BORDER Patrol Police together with other security agencies seized three Buddha images abandoned by a roadside in Nakhon Phanom today (Nov. 18) and within them were stuffed 12kg of heroin and 117kg of crystal methamphetamine (Ice), TV Channel 7 said.
Pol. Lt. Col. Rewat Champa, commander of the 237th Border Patrol Police company, was tipped off about a drug run in this upper Northeastern province and coordinated tight patrolling. One of the teams found three Buddha images abandoned on the roadside next to a cemetery in Uthen district and seized them.
Upon examining the images it was found that they had been damaged seemingly by having been thrown from a vehicle.
Found within were 12 small bags each filled with around 400 grammes of heroin for a total of 12kg, stamped with a pair of lions and a red globe, and Ice packed in one-kg Chinese tea bags, totalling 117kg.
The value of the seized drugs is at least 100 million baht.
As Mekong river sand was found at the base of the Buddha images, officials are certain the drugs were smuggled from Laos and importantly, they were wrapped in carbon copy paper to dodge X-ray scanners.
The security officials also mentioned that the drugs, destined for overseas markets, were not just hidden in the base of the Buddha images but also within them.
That the drug runners abandoned the Buddha images and fled was because of pressure from the authorities as they had a broker acting as a lookout who told them they were about to be caught.
Photos: Naewna
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