A Thai rock singer has been arrested on charges of possessing drugs following the arrest of his dealers in Bangkok last week, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests followed the detention of two suspected drug couriers linked to Thai nationals at Nanjing airport in China, said Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lakbun, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.
Chinese authorities subsequently issued an arrest warrant on July 22 last year for a 43-year-old Thai woman for hiring the couriers to smuggle drugs into their country.
Thai police collaborated with the the National Narcotics Control Commission of China and arrested the suspect on March 13 this year at a condominium in the Ratchada area of Bangkok. Another woman, 42, was also detained.
Seized from them were a variety of drugs including crystal amphetamine, ecstasy, ketamine and MDMA. Also impounded were production equipment, a motorbike and 15 bank passbooks, Pol Lt Gen Phanurat said.
Police said the crystal meth was found mixed with edible gold powder and food colouring. The product was known as “Golden powder” or “Pink golden Powder” and its target customers are celebrities and other high-profile people, police said.
As the investigation expanded, the 47-year-old singer Patcharapon “Zax” Panpum was arrested with an amount of crystal meth when he came to pick up the drugs from the dealers.
Patcharapon was the lead singer of the Thai rock band i-Zax that was famous during the early 2000s.
He was charged with drug possession. Pol Lt Gen Phanurat said some other customers have also been identified and the investigation was continuing.