ANTI-NARCOTICS cops seized 176kg of crystal meth hidden in the metal frames of electric treadmills bound for Japan, police said yesterday.
“Last month, the Australian police investigated a similar case with drugs hidden in exercise equipment, which they told us was packaged and exported from Thailand,” Major-General Yingyot Thepchamnong, head of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said.
“So we followed up in the belief there must be other cases.”
He said officers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday discovered 36kg of crystal meth stashed in exercise equipment among air cargo bound for Japan, enabling them to track the shipment back to the warehouse. During the raid on the warehouse, police found a further 140kg inside the frames of 10 treadmills.
One person was arrested following the raid, though Yingyot said police believe more suspects were involved.
Thailand is a major trafficking route for crystal meth manufactured in Myanmar’s Shan and Kachin states. The meth market has expanded and drug seizures have gone up in the past two years. – REUTERS
