A massive haul of meth was seized from a tourist boat in Phuket after a late-night raid, leaving one crew member dead while trying to escape arrest.
More than 500 kilogrammes of crystal meth were seized from a tourist dive boat anchored in Chalong Bay, Phuket, during a late-night police operation. The vessel’s captain, a 61 year old Myanmar national known as Captain Bat, died after leaping into the sea in a failed attempt to escape arrest.
The drug bust unfolded around 10.30pm on Wednesday, September 24, after a joint operation involving Phuket Marine Police, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), the Third Naval Area Command, and Phuket ISOC.
Acting on intelligence from the ONCB Region 5, three patrol boats surrounded a suspicious double-deck passenger vessel moored near Chalong Pier. Officers boarded the boat and found four men on board, along with 20 sacks filled with crystal meth weighing in at over half a tonne.
During the search, one of the men suddenly jumped overboard. Witnesses said the man, later identified as the boat’s captain, attempted to flee by clinging to a mooring rope. He appeared exhausted as officers tried to bring him back aboard. He was eventually rescued from the water and rushed to Chalong Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Investigators said the vessel had sailed from Kawthaung, Myanmar, carrying 1 tonne of crystal meth. Around half of the load had already been dropped off to an agent in Satun province before rough seas forced the boat to take shelter in Chalong Bay between September 21 and 23.
Officials believe the drugs were intended for distribution outside Thailand, and the crew had planned to continue their journey to international waters or a neighbouring country once weather conditions improved after today, September 26.
The three surviving crew members, the seized drugs, and the vessel were taken ashore for interrogation and further investigation, reported The Phuket News.
Officials hailed the operation as one of the largest marine drug busts in Phuket in recent years, highlighting the island’s growing role as a key transit hub in regional trafficking routes.
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