Phuket –
A young Thai-Australian male suspect was arrested in Phuket with 120,000 of methamphetamine Pills and six kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
The Phuket Provincial Police told the Phuket Express that on Friday (January 9th) officers intercepted a 16-year-old boy, later identified only as Mr. Thammarat, at a delivery center in the Wichit subdistrict. He was found collecting a suspicious parcel containing 60,000 methamphetamine pills and two kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice). Under questioning, the teenager admitted he had been hired to collect the packages on behalf of Mr. Gabriel “John Thanet Garnett,” a 22-year-old Thai-Australian national.
Police followed the lead to Garnett’s residence in Chalong, where they uncovered an additional 60,000 pills and four kilograms of ice. Garnett had fled before officers arrived, but the total haul amounted to 120,000 pills and six kilograms of ice, with an estimated street value exceeding 7 million baht (USD 200,000).
Later that night, at approximately 11 p.m., Region 8 investigators and Wichit police tracked Garnett to a petrol station less than a kilometer from a highway checkpoint. He was arrested alongside his girlfriend while preparing to leave the province.
Authorities described the seizure as the largest drug haul in Wichit in several years, showing the growing trend of traffickers exploiting courier services to bypass traditional checkpoints. Police confirmed Garnett will face multiple charges related to narcotics trafficking, while the teenage courier has already been remanded for prosecution.
Officials added that the bust was made possible through cross-agency cooperation, with intelligence sharing between Ranong and Phuket police leading to the successful interception.
