Korean drug suspect arrested in Pattaya after sneaking into Thailand

PATTAYA — A South Korean male suspect, previously deported by immigration police in 2017, secretly returned to Thailand and lived in Pattaya for half a month before being arrested by police. Heroin syringes were found scattered in his room, which he claimed belonged to a Thai woman.

On September 20, police Lt. Col. Weerachai Thinkamut, head of the Chonburi Immigration Department, known as “Inspector Dak, the foreign mafia fighter,” revealed that Mr. Hun Chon, 42, a South Korean citizen, was a person who had been banned from entering Thailand.

He had previously been deported by immigration for drug abuse (methamphetamine) and overstaying in 2017. He entered Thailand illegally from Cambodia via Sa Kaeo province without an immigration stamp, indicating that he used natural border crossings.

Officials found out that he had been staying in an apartment at Pattaya 3 Road, Moo 9, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province for about two weeks. They planned his arrest accordingly.

Immigration officers in Chonburi arrest 42-year-old Hun Chon, a South Korean national, at an apartment on Pattaya 3 Road, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province, on September 19, 2024.

On the night of September 19, the Chonburi Immigration Police team raided and arrested Mr. Hun in a room in downtown Pattaya, Chonburi province. A search of the room found numerous intravenous needles similar to those used for heroin in plastic bags. However, his urine test came back negative for drugs. Hun claimed that all the drug paraphernalia belonged to a Thai woman who had stayed with him two days earlier.

Chonburi Immigration investigators also have information that Hun was involved in drug trafficking to South Korea. He allegedly purchased drugs in Thailand for Koreans to collect and smuggle back to Korea. A suspect who was arrested for smuggling drugs into Korea cited Hun as the source.

Officials initially arrested Hun for illegal entry and will cooperate with South Korean police for further investigation.

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