Police intercept ferry 'carrying two tonnes of meth' to Thai White Lotus island
Police intercepted a ferry carrying two tonnes of methamphetamine to a party island in southern Thailand.
Authorities were on heightened patrol for the Songkran festival when they spotted a suspicious van leading a truck through Samut Prakan province near Bangkok in the early hours of April 11.
The truck was being loaded onto a ferry at the Seahorse Ferry Bangkok Pier in the Rat Burana area when officers swooped in.
The vessel was bound for 'White Lotus' island Koh Samui - a drug haven which has recently seen an influx of narcotics smugglers due to its lax enforcement.
Police seized 2,000 kg of crystal meth that was packed in 47 sacks in the truck's closed cargo box.
Two men, Natthawat, 26, and Mesa, 25, were detained, while two more suspects, Ekkasit, 37, and Nopparat, 31, were arrested in an expanded investigation.
The arrests, carried out with intelligence from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), come amid a probe into a drug distribution network based in Prachinburi.
Investigators said drug lords in neighbouring countries, including Myanmar and Laos, were instructing young 'runners' in the province to deliver narcotics from northeast Thailand into the central region.
The syndicate was reportedly tied to nine cases, which saw more than 15.5 million methamphetamine tablets, 2.3 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine, and half-a-tonne of ketamine seized.
However, the gang was said to have changed their modus operandi to avoid detection, sourcing their narcotics from central Thailand instead, before smuggling them through the deep south.
Police Lieutenant General Achayon Kraithong, commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said authorities were on alert before spotting a suspicious van that matched intel on April 10.
He added: 'This expanded investigation into the drug trafficking network stems from increased police efforts to intercept drug smuggling along various routes nationwide.
'This forced drug trafficking rings to change their methods of transporting narcotics to evade police and security forces, by concealing drugs in vehicles and shipping them via ferry to tourist areas in southern Thailand.
'The Royal Thai Police, through the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, confirms that it will continue the investigation to apprehend remaining members of the network and seize assets to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.'
Koh Samui has seen a surge of tourism among US, British and European travellers following the success of The White Lotus's third season.
The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, which serves as the show's fictional setting, saw a tenfold increase in demand, its executive vice president Marc Speichert said. The spike in interest, called the 'White Lotus Effect', also boosted tourism in the previous filming locations of Hawaii and Sicily.
However, there is a dark underbelly to the island, which claimed the life of cricket star Shane Warne in a Kamagra-fuelled romp with sex workers at a luxury villa in March 2022.
The tropical climate and secluded location have seen the island become a popular destination for growing cannabis legally. Dozens of Brits have been arrested while trying to smuggle the drug back to the United Kingdom.
Police intercept ferry 'carrying two tonnes of meth' to Thai White Lotus island
