PATTAYA — Following a tip from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) about a Korean national involved in drug-related activities hiding in Pattaya, Police Colonel Naphatphong Khositsuriyanamani, Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration, ordered his investigative team to locate and arrest the suspect.
The suspect was identified as Choi Jin Tae, 40, whom South Korean authorities described as a high-priority target. Immigration officials discovered he had overstayed his visa in Thailand and planned to arrest him on this charge.
On July 31, undercover police spotted Choi near a Korean restaurant on Pattaya 3 Road. He was arrested for overstaying his visa by 286 days and then questioned about drug-related activities.
Choi confessed to being the deputy leader of a drug gang, responsible for sourcing drugs in Thailand and sending them to Korea. He admitted to smuggling ketamine about four times previously.
Information from South Korean police indicated that Choi used women to smuggle drugs from Thailand to Korea by concealing them on their bodies. These women were caught at airports in South Korea and implicated Choi as the mastermind.
The value of the drugs, if successfully sold in Korea, would be significantly higher: ice (methamphetamine) at 13 million baht (about $370,000) per kilogram, and ketamine at 5,200,000 baht (about $140,000) per kilogram.
Of the four smuggling attempts this year (2024), all couriers were caught at Incheon Airport and testified that Choi was behind the operations:
- May 31: One suspect arrested with 500 grams of ketamine, received at a hotel in Pattaya.
- June 10: Two suspects arrested with 500 grams of ketamine, also received in Pattaya.
- July 17: One suspect arrested with 1.1 kg of Crystal meth (methamphetamine), received in Pattaya.
- July 19: One suspect arrested with 1.25 kg of Crystal meth, received in Pattaya and Samut Prakan.
Initially, Choi is being charged with overstaying his visa. The Korean embassy will be contacted to take him into custody for further legal proceedings. Thai police will continue investigating to identify Choi’s drug source and make additional arrests.
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