S. Korean man arrested in Thailand for alleged drug trafficking: report

A South Korean man, who has been wanted in his home country for alleged drug trafficking, has been arrested in Thailand, a local media report showed Saturday. The man, 44, was apprehended at a hotel in the Chon Buri province Thursday, as he has been accused of smuggling crystal methamphetamine from Thailand into South Korea, the Bangkok Post reported, citing an official at the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). In December, South Korean authorities seized a parcel containing meth hidden in coffee and bean bags sent from Thailand. Police investigation found that the man had sent the parcel. Korean police tried to arrest the suspect but later found he had fled to Thailand. They requested a coordinated crackdown with the ONCB to help arrest the suspect. Seven South Koreans were arrested for suspected drug trafficking in Thailand last year, while five other South Koreans have been caught so far in Thailand this year, according to the report. More than 70 percent of drugs seized in South Korea hav e been smuggled from abroad and most of them are believed to originate from the so-called Golden Triangle involving the border areas of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, according to the National Intelligence Service, South Korea's intelligence agency. Source: Yonhap News Agency