PATTAYA — A South Korean male suspect, previously deported by immigration police in 2017, secretly re-entered Thailand and had been living in Pattaya for half a month before being arrested by police. Heroin syringes were found scattered in his room, which he claimed belonged to a Thai woman.
On September 20, Police Lieutenant Colonel Weerachai Thinkamut, Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration, known as “Inspector Dak, the foreign mafia buster,” revealed that Mr. Hun Chon, 42, a South Korean national, was a person prohibited from entering Thailand.
He had previously been deported by immigration for drug abuse (methamphetamine) and overstaying in 2017. He illegally re-entered Thailand from Cambodia through Sa Kaeo province without an immigration stamp, indicating he used natural border crossings.
Officials learned that he had been staying at an apartment on Pattaya 3 Road, Moo 9, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province for about two weeks. They planned his arrest accordingly.
On the night of September 19, the Chonburi Immigration Police team raided and arrested Mr. Hun at a room in central Pattaya, Chonburi Province. A search of the room revealed numerous intravenous needles similar to those used for heroin in plastic bags. However, his urine test was negative for drugs. Hun claimed that all the drug paraphernalia belonged to a Thai woman who had stayed with him two days earlier.
Chonburi Immigration investigators also have information that Hun was involved in drug trafficking to South Korea. He allegedly procured drugs in Thailand for Koreans to collect and smuggle back to Korea. A suspect arrested for smuggling drugs into Korea implicated Hun as the source.
Initially, officials arrested Hun for illegal entry and will coordinate with South Korean police for further investigation.
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