Penang drug trafficker said to be brutal enforcer
The man beat and tortured the friends’ of two syndicate members who failed in their attempt to smuggle drugs into Malaysia.
The 44-year old man was nabbed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport two day ago by a heavily armed Thai police force before he could board a flight back to Malaysia.
According to a Thai police source, who was involved in the interrogation, the Penangite beat and tortured the friends’ of two syndicate members who failed in their attempt to smuggle drugs into Malaysia late last year.
“He beat and tortured their (syndicate members’) friends and sent the chilling images of the torture via smartphone to the two syndicate members after finding out about their failure to smuggle drugs into Malaysia,” said the source who declined to reveal his identity due to the sensitive information he shared with Bernama today.
The two Malaysian syndicate members were nabbed by Thai police in December last year in Chumphon, southern Thailand with 140 bars of heroin weighing 52.4kg and “Crystal” methamphetamine weighing 41.9kg stashed in their car.
The final destination of the drugs was supposed to be Penang, according to the source.
The police, he said, knew the car which was used by the two Malaysians to transport the drugs as it was bought by the Penangite in Bangkok.
The source said the Penangite was also implicated in the discovery of 87kg of “Ice” at a house in Hatyai in January this year.
“His arrest (in Suvarnabhumi Airport) two day ago was a culmination of police efforts since late last year,” he said, adding that the man who was described as the “big fish” was under continuous surveillance by the authorities ever since he arrived in Thailand about two weeks ago.
The source also disclosed that the Penangite spoke fluent Thai, maintained an exclusive condominium in Bangkok which he shared with his girlfriend, and carried a pistol whenever he was in Thailand for protection against any threat.
“He also has a fake Thai identity card,” he said adding that the man led a wealthy lifestyle when in Thailand.
The Penangite, according to the source, was in the Fang district in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, recently to order drugs, but the negotiations with an unidentified party failed to materialise, prompting him to fly back to Bangkok, where he was subsequently arrested by Thai police two days ago.
The source also said the suspect admitted he had travelled to Thailand at least 10 times a year to conduct his drug-dealing activities.
He also confessed during interrogation that he had been involved in drug-dealing activities for over 20 years and had been imprisoned by Malaysian authorities twice for drug-related offences.
The Penangite was brought to the Criminal Court today under heavy police escort for remand.
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His arrest followed another high-profile arrest of a Malaysian, dubbed “Mr T” from Johor, who is also suspected of being a key member of an international drug syndicate. “Mr T” was arrested at the Hatyai airport last Wednesday.