Thailand’s Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) said it is seeking formal cooperation with its Malaysian counterpart in a bid to expand the investigation into the Lao drug network of kingpin Xaysana Keopimpha.
Bangkok Post reported that NSB commissioner Sommai Kongwisaisuk said Thai and Malaysian authorities will next meet up to discuss at a formal meeting on how to ramp up efforts to catch more members of the drug ring.
A Malaysian national Kamarudin bin Awang was arrested in Kelantan state in February and is thought to be linked to the Laos drug network.
The Thai police said it was discovered the ring had affiliates in Malaysia, and more arrests should be carried out.
The Malaysian police will carry out an operation code-named Chaiya Sayop Phairi 60/3, which is the third episode in the NSB’s crackdown on Xaysana’s gang.
The main purpose of seeking cooperation from Malaysian police is to seek the extradition of Maroning Jako, a drug suspect in southern Thailand who had previously been detained by Malaysian police.
The NSB said it found out that the important suspect behind this drug network is a person with dual Malaysian-Thai nationality.
The drug ring is said to be linked to the violence in Southern Thailand and drug money is said to have helped in the insurgency against the Thai military and police in the Muslim-dominated southern province.
The suspect is said to have travelled back and forth between Thailand and Malaysia, unsuspected.
The Thai police are also seeking the extradition of Maroning Jako.
Source: The Bangkok Post