Police Arrest Northern Drug Kingpin in Nearly 100 Million Baht Bust
Police arrested a major drug trafficker in Samut Prakan after nearly eight years on the run, with investigations linking him to narcotics worth nearly 100 million baht smuggled from northern Thailand.
On July 13, 2025, police officers led by Maj. Gen. Pattanasak Bubphasuwann arrested Vachirawut, alias "Champ," 30, at an auto repair shop in Samut Prakan. He was wanted under criminal court warrant No. 375/2560 issued on October 19, 2017, on charges of joint possession and distribution of Class 1 narcotics including methamphetamine and crystal meth, and conspiracy in drug-related crimes.
The arrest stems from an August 9, 2017 operation when police apprehended two suspects and seized 140,000 methamphetamine pills, 9.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and 6 kilograms of ketamine valued at over 30 million baht. Further investigation led to the arrest of two additional suspects and recovery of drugs worth 62 million baht. Police determined that Vachirawut had hired couriers to transport the narcotics, paying 200,000 baht per trip.
During interrogation, Vachirawut confessed to hiring smugglers to transport drugs three to four times previously, each shipment containing approximately one million pills from northern Thailand to Ayutthaya and Samut Prakan provinces. He had evaded authorities for nearly a decade before his capture. He is now in police custody pending prosecution.
