Drug kingpin nabbed in Thai cop sting
Print Edition
A controversial and colorful former guerilla fighter long accused of playing a key role in the Golden Triangle drugs trade was arrested during a sting operation yesterday, Thai police said.
Laota Seanlee, who is believed to be 79, was allegedly caught trying to sell 20 kilograms of crystal meth to undercover officers from his home in a village on Thailand’s border with Myanmar.
The rugged hills of northern Thailand form part of the notorious Golden Triangle drug-producing zone that includes Myanmar and Laos.
Its cartels are some of the most prolific drug producers in the world, trafficking heroin, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs. Yet high profile arrests are rare.
Compared to their counterparts in Central and Latin America, hit hard by infighting or law enforcement successes, Golden Triangle cartel leaders have remained relatively unmolested for decades.
Police arrested Laota and 13 others, including family members, yesterday morning, parading them in front of local media. Laota sat with his arms behind his back as police laid out cash, pistols, shotguns and plastic wrapped blocks of the drugs.
“We followed and investigated and we did a sting operation,” Police Major General Sommai Kongvisaisuk, told reporters.
“Laota took our money and returned 20 kilograms of crystal meth to us.”
Laota has been arrested before but authorities have never managed to make drug trafficking charges stick. In the early 2000s he spent four years in jail on trafficking charges but was acquitted in 2007.
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