Major Drug Money Laundering Suspect Arrested in Tak, B2.5 Billion Flowed Through Accounts

A woman accused of laundering money for a major drug trafficking network was arrested in Mae Sot district of Tak province on Tuesday, with assets worth 150 million baht seized from her home. Authorities found that more than 2.5 billion baht had flowed through her bank accounts over the past year. Officers from the Koh Phangan and Tha Chi police stations in Surat Thani and officials from the the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and other agencies, armed with a search warrant, searched a house on the Mae Sot-Mae Tao Road and arrested Ayisa Lawin, 47. She was wanted on a warrant issued by the provincial court in Wiang Sa district of Surat Thani on July 31 on charges of abetting drug offenders and conspiring to commit money laundering offences linked to narcotics trafficking. Authorities found that the raided premises housed MYMT Co, a company registered as an import-export and international financial services business operating in the area near the border with Myanmar. ONCB officials seized two BMW passenger cars worth a combined 6.4 million baht, 24 land title deeds in Tak province, one in Bangkok and another in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 123,080 baht in cash, gold and diamond jewellery, luxury watches and branded handbags. The total value of the confiscated assets was estimated at 150 million baht. Officials also froze eight bank accounts after discovering that they had recorded transactions exceeding 2.5 billion baht over the past year. Ms Ayisa was initially taken to the local immigration unit to record her arrest before being transferred to investigators at the Wiang Sa police station in Surat Thani for legal proceedings. Pol Col Sombat Chamsaengrong, deputy commander of Surat Thani Provincial Police, said the investigation stemmed from the arrest of Charan “Daeng” Deemai, 47, a resident of Wiang Sa, on Oct 23 last year. Border patrol police and ONCB officials seized 340,000 speed pills and 950 grammes of crystal methamphetamine from him. An expanded investigation subsequently shed light on those involved in the suspect’s drug trafficking network. Arrest warrants were then issued for 47 drug agents across the South. Two have been apprehended so far. Authorities also issued warrants for seven key suppliers operating in northern Thailand, with two major traffickers already in custody. According to the investigation, Ms Ayisa, originally from Krabi province, married a Myanmar national before establishing a financial services company that allegedly laundered money for northern drug trafficking syndicates. Authorities will continue expanding the probe to identify and apprehend other members of the network. Information Source: Bangkok Post