Key figure in flight‑crew heroin smuggling arrested

Police say Phayao man a close relative of person who recruited flight attendant

A prime suspect in a heroin trafficking network linked to the case of a Thai flight attendant detained in Australia was arrested in Phayao province on Thursday night, authorities said on Friday.

Police investigators apprehended Ekkawit Yongnichakul, known as “Rin Rin”, 41, who is accused of supplying heroin concealed in elephant-patterned tote bags before they were passed on to another suspect, Uthai Kunaphiwat, in the northern province.

The development is linked to the case of the 26‑year‑old flight attendant, known only as Meena, who was detained in Melbourne after authorities found 1.8 kilogrammes of heroin hidden inside the tote bags she was carrying.

Police said Mr Ekkawit was not the person behind the chat account “RoseRose”, who recruited Ms Meena to carry the bags to Australia. However, he is a close relative of “RoseRose” and photographs show the pair travelling together.

During questioning, Mr Ekkawit said he worked as a seasonal agricultural labourer and lived in Chiang Kham district of Phayao. He admitted being hired to transport heroin concealed in elephant‑patterned bags and said he was paid about 100,000 baht per delivery.

According to police, “RoseRose” instructed Mr Ekkawit to buy the tote bags in Chiang Mai and leave them at designated roadside collection points.

Associates later collected the bags, concealed heroin inside and returned them to the agreed locations with 100,000 baht in cash. Mr Ekkawit then arranged for Mr Uthai to collect the bags and reportedly paid him 60,000 baht via a cash deposit machine.

Mr Ekkawit claimed the heroin was packed in Laos, but investigators said they have not confirmed where it was concealed.

According to investigators, Mr Uthai travelled by bus from northern Thailand to Ayutthaya province, then hired a black sedan to deliver the tote bags to the condominium where Ms Meena lived in Bang Na district of Bangkok, and to another location in Soi Suea Yai Uthit.

Investigators said Mr Uthai admitted involvement in five or six deliveries. But after discovering he had rented accommodation in Ayutthaya for more than five months, they think he played a larger role in the operation.

In another development, the Department of Special Investigation has obtained arrest warrants for four more suspects — three Lao nationals and one Thai — accused of smuggling heroin from Laos into Thailand.

The Thai suspect, identified only as Khlaeo, has already been detained, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.

Authorities believe the smuggling case and the one involving the flight attendant employed the same trafficking methods, with Mr Uthai acting as the key link between the two operations.

The police Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), meanwhile, has obtained an arrest warrant for “RoseRose”.

Investigators have been making substantial progress, Pol Lt Gen Achayon Kraithong, the NSB commissioner, said upon returning to Bangkok from Phayao on Friday evening.

He described “RoseRose” as playing a role closely resembling that of a principal organiser within the trafficking operation. However, police believe there are still more senior figures at large.