Prosecutors Rush to Close Air Mina Drug Case by September 14
Prosecutors are rushing to close a transnational drug case involving an airline attendant arrested overseas for heroin export by September 14, with three suspects in custody and a fourth still at large in Thailand.
On September 9, prosecutors and police held an urgent meeting at the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office Investigation Division to accelerate closure of the Air Mina case, which involves allegations of attempted heroin exportation. Prosecutor-General Watcharin Phanurutn, director of the Investigation Division, chaired the meeting with officers from the Border Patrol Police to discuss the transnational organized crime case linked to Mina, an airline flight attendant arrested overseas on drug charges who coordinated with major drug distributors in Thailand.
Following the incident in Australia, investigators from the Border Patrol Police and the Narcotics Bureau have arrested three suspects in Thailand: Uthai, Nanthawat (who destroyed evidence), and Ekwipt. A fourth key suspect, Chanthra, also known as "rose rose," remains at large. Authorities have consolidated what were initially two separate cases into one and classified it as a transnational crime, which allows the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office to retain sole prosecutorial authority and streamline the process.
With only approximately 15 days remaining before the detention period expires for the three suspects in custody, investigators must complete their case summary urgently—targeting completion by Friday, September 11, or no later than Monday, September 14—to ensure the prosecutor can file charges before the suspects must be released. The main charges against all four suspects include: conspiracy to commit serious drug offenses; joint distribution and export of Category 1 narcotics (heroin) for commercial purposes affecting national security (stemming from Mina's transport of heroin to Australia); participation in a transnational criminal organization; and obstruction of justice by destroying evidence.
Investigators have also been tasked with identifying the recipient of the drugs in Australia and investigating other suspects linked to the case, including a person using the alias "Dear," with plans to expand charges if additional evidence emerges.
