Man Returns to Prison After Release, Embraces Girlfriend Through Bars as Wife Vows to Wait

On May 8, 2025, Deputy Superintendent Udomchoke Singhakul of Nong Sung Sub-Police Station led officers in arresting Wuthichai on charges of possessing and distributing Class 1 narcotics (methamphetamine and crystal meth) for commercial purposes. Police seized 800 methamphetamine tablets and one bag of crystal meth weighing 37.5 grams from a grocery store front in Nong Na Kham subdistrict, Mueang district, Udon Thani province.

Wuthichai, a former drug convict, had been purchasing methamphetamine from a friend he met in prison nine years earlier. After serving nearly eight years of a 25-year sentence for a previous methamphetamine trafficking case, he was released in October 2023. He initially sought legitimate employment and planned to stay clean, but no employer would hire him due to his criminal record. After two to three months of unemployment, he reconnected with his current wife. When unable to find work, he relapsed into drug use after seeing friends using in social settings, eventually becoming a small-time dealer about two months before his arrest.

During interrogation, Wuthichai confessed he purchased methamphetamine at 10,000 baht per 1,000 tablets from his prison acquaintance and sold individual tablets for 30 baht each. He consumed approximately 10 tablets daily and provided some customers discounts for bulk purchases. He claimed he intended this to be his final deal before being arrested. The crystal meth was given to him by a friend as a sample to try selling, though he had not yet tested it.

Wuthichai raised three fingers in a traditional pledge, vowing not to involve himself with drugs again if released, expressing remorse for his family and society. His wife, who only recently learned he had been dealing rather than just using, cried while visiting him in custody and promised to wait for his release, though he advised her not to wait given his likely lengthy sentence.