Nong Khai—
At 1:20 PM, on February 12th, 2024, Mueang Nong Khai police and relevant agencies held a press conference on an arrest of a massive lot of 20 heroin bars stashed inside three Chinese ceramic doll statues worth more than 20 million baht at the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, Nong Khai.
According to a report by the police, at 10:45 AM, the same day, two Lao nationalities drove a six-wheel truck to the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge Checkpoint. Thai customs officers searched the truck and found suspicious boxes. The contents inside the boxes first appeared to be Chinese ceramic doll statues, the Thai customs officers then examined the doll statues through an X-ray machine.
There were unidentified objects stashed inside the doll statues, according to the Thai customs officers. As a result, more than 20 heroin bars, with a total weight of 7.6 kilograms, worth more than 20 million baht, were found.
The Lao suspects in possession of illicit substances were escorted to the Mueang Nong Khai inquiry police for further legal processing.
The Lao suspects reportedly told the police that they allegedly received the parcels for delivery to a private transportation company in Nong Khai and only received 500 baht for delivery service. They reportedly denied any involvement in the stashed heroin bars, according to the police, and claimed they didn’t know the bars were there.
However, the final destination for the delivery was a company in Bangna, Bangkok, according to the police.
Police were continuing to investigate the incident as of press time.
