BANGKOK — Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has approved 15 million baht in rewards for the capture of major drug traffickers, announcing “The Most Wanted Drug Offenders Bounty Program” alongside news of a death sentence for transnational drug kingpin Ong Gim Wah.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Phanurat Lukboon, Secretary-General of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), and Mr. Panon Mekhanan, Director of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau of the ONCB, held a press conference on April 9 announcing the conviction of Mr. Ong Gim Wah, a major transnational drug trafficker who received the death penalty.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Phanurat highlighted the “Most Wanted Drug Offenders Bounty Program,” a program aimed at targeting high-level masterminds within drug networks. The program uses funds from Thailand’s Drug Control Fund to provide cash rewards as incentives for officers involved in major arrests.
For fiscal year 2025, the ONCB has set a target of arresting 200 people and approved 15 million baht ($434,065) for bounty. So far, 29 people have been arrested domestically and in neighboring countries, for which rewards of more than 10.8 million baht ($312,525) have been paid.
A key success of the program is the arrest and sentencing of Ong Gim Wah, a 40-year-old Malaysian national, who was sentenced to death by the Court of First Instance on March 4, 2025.
Mr. Ong Gim Wah was considered a major transnational drug trafficker and a key player in sourcing and coordinating drug trade operations from production hubs in the Golden Triangle. His network spanned several countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Laos, with drugs smuggled through Thailand to third countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, and Australia. He carried a bounty of 1 million baht ($28,935) under the ONCB’s program.
The ONCB issued a warrant for his arrest following a major 2023 operation in Ratchaburi Province, where seven suspects were apprehended with 998 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice). Mr. Ong fled and went into hiding in Laos, but through close cooperation between Thai and Lao authorities, he was captured in late 2023 and extradited to Thailand to face charges.
The arrest marked the end of a 17-year-long manhunt. Additionally, authorities have seized and frozen assets linked to Mr. Ong’s network, including over 85 million baht ($2.45 million) in Thailand and over 4 billion baht ($115.75 million) in Malaysia, aiming to dismantle the financial infrastructure of his transnational drug trafficking operation.
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