Thai authorities are working to secure the return of a woman accused of recruiting a Thai Airways flight attendant to smuggle bags containing heroin into Australia, as investigators widen their pursuit of a cross-border narcotics network believed to have links to a major drug figure in Myanmar.
The woman, identified by police only as Chantra, allegedly operated a Facebook account under the name “Rose Rose” and used Messenger to approach the flight attendant, Meena, according to Pol Maj Gen Noppasit Mitpakdee, commander of Division 1 of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.
Investigators allege that Ms Chantra arranged for Ms Meena to carry luggage in which illegal drugs had been concealed. Police believe the suspect has since escaped to Myanmar and is sheltering in territory controlled by an ethnic armed organisation.
Authorities have also linked Ms Chantra to Col Ja Lobo, a suspected narcotics kingpin based in southern Shan State. Police said the pair are related and described Col Ja Lobo as an influential figure in a large-scale drug manufacturing and trafficking network operating across national borders.
Col Ja Lobo previously served as deputy commander of Military Region 171, an area associated with the United Wa State Army, one of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed groups. Thai security and narcotics officials have monitored his activities for several years, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Pol Maj Gen Noppasit said Thai agencies are coordinating with their counterparts in Myanmar in an attempt to have Ms Chantra returned for prosecution.
However, the absence of a mutual legal assistance treaty between the two countries means the process must be pursued through diplomatic contacts and broader international cooperation.
Ms Meena, meanwhile, remains detained by the Australian Federal Police and is due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sept 14, according to Parin Mekhanan, director of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board’s Bangkok office.
Mr Parin said the ONCB had continued to share relevant intelligence with Australian investigators. The decision over whether any material supplied by Thailand is presented in court rests with Australian prosecutors and judicial authorities, he added.
Australian officials have not sought further evidence or information from Thailand at this stage.
Pol Maj Gen Teeradej Thammasuthee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said enforcement agencies were intensifying operations against international syndicates that exploit Thailand as a departure point for overseas drug shipments.
Such organisations are frequently controlled by foreign nationals, including Chinese and Vietnamese suspects as well as members of ethnic minority groups, he said. Recruiters often persuade or deceive Thai citizens into transporting narcotics across borders.
Police pointed to Ms Meena’s case and a separate investigation involving crystal methamphetamine hidden inside jars of tamarind paste intended for delivery to Tokyo.
However, Pol Maj Gen Teeradej said the number of Thais unknowingly drawn into acting as drug couriers had fallen in recent years, largely because prominent arrests and extensive media coverage had increased public awareness of recruitment tactics used by trafficking networks.
