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Malaysia
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Malaysian drug kingpin arrested in Laos with US$2.5 million in assets seized

  • The 41-year-old had worked with drug networks across Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore and Laos since 2006, Thai police said
  • Among the man’s extensive assets seized by police were three yachts, two cars, a parcel of land with a building, firearms and cash

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The 41-year-old Malaysian, who has not been named, was arrested in Vientiane on December 29 following a joint Thai-Laotian police operation. Photo: Shutterstock
The Star
A Malaysian fugitive who was a major player in Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle has been arrested in Laos, a top Thai police official said.
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The 41-year-old, who has not been named, was arrested in Vientiane on December 29 following a joint Thai-Laotian police operation.

Since 2006, the man has worked with drug networks across Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore and Laos, said Assistant National Police Chief Police Lieutenant General Panurat Lakboon of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
Fireworks explode along the Chao Phraya River during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bangkok. The man’s extensive assets were spread across the Thai capital and the provinces of Trat, Chiang Rai and Chonburi, police said. Photo: AFP
Fireworks explode along the Chao Phraya River during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bangkok. The man’s extensive assets were spread across the Thai capital and the provinces of Trat, Chiang Rai and Chonburi, police said. Photo: AFP

Police also seized the man’s extensive assets, which included two condominium units, three yachts, two cars, three motorbikes, a parcel of land with a building, firearms, cash and other valuables, spread across Bangkok and the provinces of Trat, Chiang Rai, and Chonburi, Panurat said.

The total estimated value of the seized assets was 85 million baht (US$2.5 million).

“He also used Thailand for both money laundering and as a transit point for smuggling drugs, including to third countries like Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia,” said Panurat, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

“The arrest is a result of the continuous investigation and close coordination between the Thai, Malaysian, and Laotian enforcement agencies,” he said in a statement.

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