Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well a recent arrest, let's just jump into this. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from The Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: South Koreans arrested in Phuket drug bust. Quoting directly: "Four South Korean Nationals have been arrested in a coordinated early-morning raid on a suspected drug distribution hub in Koh Kaew, with Officers seizing ketamine and crystal meth allegedly destined for export to South Korea." Quoting further: "The operation, led by Phuket Immigration Police and supported by multiple narcotics and enforcement units, followed a request for assistance from South Korean Authorities seeking the arrest and deportation of a suspect accused of smuggling drugs from Thailand. Officers executed a search warrant issued by the Phuket Provincial Court at a house in a luxury residential estate in Koh Kaew at about 8.30am on Thursday (Mar 19). The raid was carried out by an investigative team headed by Pol Lt Col Wisarut La-iad-ong, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Police, alongside Officers from Immigration Division 6, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and Phuket City Police." 

So the thing to understand is Thai law enforcement takes drug trafficking really seriously, and where it involves foreign nationals on Thai soil, they take it even more seriously; it has an immigration component. Again as I have discussed in other videos, there has been a paradigm shift here in Thailand, one that happened about 12 years ago, where the paradigm shift moved from thinking of immigration as more less an administrative function, to a law enforcement function and then in earnest last summer with the tensions and confrontation along the border here with Cambodia. I did videos and I continued to make note of the fact that Thailand in the sense of immigration in terms of how law enforcement views this, now it's much more viewed in terms of a national security matter. So basically, the thing to take away from this and the conclusion to draw is if you are a foreign national looking to come to Thailand to use it as some sort of hub for international drug trafficking, you may want to find another place. 

That said, quoting further: "Immigration Division 6 Commander Pol Maj Gen Chutharet Yingyongdamrongkul had ordered an expanded investigation after receiving intelligence that a South Korean suspect involved in transnational drug trafficking had fled to Phuket and was in hiding. During the search, officers arrested four men, all South Korean nationals, and uncovered a cash of illegal drugs and related items. A 43-year-old man was charged with joint possession of a category 2 narcotic (ketamine) and consumption of a category 1 narcotic (methamphetamine). His permission to stay in the Kingdom was also revoked. A second suspect, aged 32, was charged with overstaying his visa, with Immigration Officials confirming his permission to remain in Thailand had been revoked. Two other suspects, both aged 31, face multiple charges including possession of crystal meth (ya ice) and ketamine, as well as drug consumption. Both were also found to have overstayed their visas by 733 days." I urge those who are watching this video, if you want more insight into the details of all that, I urge you to check out The Phuket News, thephuketnews.com for that article.

That said, again the conclusion to draw from all of this is first, look, transnational criminals, Thailand is not really a conducive place for that kind of activity, and I'm saying that in the hopes that we have less of this stuff come up in the future, because it's not good for Thailand; it's not good for much of anybody. But again, also draw the conclusion that Immigration is very much proactive now with regard to law enforcement endeavours especially where it involves the trafficking of illegal drugs, notwithstanding the fact that Thailand has taken in my opinion, a very rational stance on Cannabis, Thailand takes a very hard line on matters pertaining to what I can only describe as hard drugs; things like methamphetamine, ketamine etc., and they are not going to particularly stray from that hard line from what I can see moving forward. So just something to keep in mind, if you are a criminal, Thailand is probably not the best place for you.