Police in Chiang Rai arrested a 36-year-old woman after she attempted to smuggle methamphetamine to her boyfriend while he was being held in custody on drug charges. The incident occurred on the evening of Wednesday, August 20, at the Mae Chan Police Station.
The woman, identified as Nantacha, arrived at the station around 7 p.m. with a request to deliver food to her boyfriend, Thewa, who had recently been arrested on narcotics-related offences and was awaiting further legal proceedings.
Officers permitted her to meet him in the detention room but required supervision by an officer on duty, Police Senior Sergeant Major Cheep Chainat. During the supervised visit, Cheep observed that, in addition to food, Nantacha attempted to hand over a tissue-wrapped package to her boyfriend. Suspicious of the exchange, the officer immediately intervened and seized the item for inspection.
Upon examining the package, police discovered a methamphetamine tablet, commonly referred to in Thailand as Yaba, along with approximately 0.037 grammes of crystal meth. Both substances were concealed in a small plastic zip-lock bag hidden within the tissue paper.
Confronted with the evidence, Nantacha admitted she had obtained the drugs from a friend. She told officers she was worried that her boyfriend would experience withdrawal symptoms while detained and therefore sought to deliver narcotics to him.
Following her arrest, police escorted her to a hospital for a drug test. The results confirmed that she herself had recently used Yaba.
Authorities charged Nantacha under the Narcotics Control Act with two offences:
- Section 162: Use of a Category 1 drug, punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
- Section 145: Possession and attempted distribution of Category 1 narcotics, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and fines ranging from 200,000 to 1.5 million baht.
The incident highlights the continued challenges Thai police face in controlling the spread of methamphetamine in the country, particularly within the northern provinces near the Golden Triangle, a region notorious for drug trafficking.
It is not the first drug-related crime to take place in or around police stations in Thailand. In February last year, a police officer was caught selling Yaba to an undercover colleague just outside a precinct. In a separate case, another officer and his teenage girlfriend were arrested during a drug deal, with investigators later seizing nearly 1,900 Yaba pills from their car and residence.
Authorities in Chiang Rai have reiterated their commitment to cracking down on narcotics-related crimes, emphasizing that even attempts to exploit supervised visits will be met with strict enforcement. Nantacha remains in custody as her case moves through the Thai justice system.
