Two drug traffickers sentenced to death and the other two given life

Two people were condemned to death and the other two were given life imprisonment after they were found guilty by the Criminal Court of having in their possession 600,000 methamphetamine (ya ba) tablets for sale.

The four convicts who are all natives of Chiang Mai were identified as Samran Saenluang, 49; Pongsapak Ruangkitsuwan, 43; Somys Laomee, 44; and Nopporn Panasrisomboon, 24. All were initially sentenced to death but the death sentence for Somyos and Nopporn were commuted to life due to their confession which was deemed useful.

The four men drove two pick-up trucks from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai with the huge haul of methamphetamines hidden in of the two vehicles. The drugs were supposed to be delivered to a dealer in Chiang Mai.

Anti-narcotic agents and police set up a roadblock on the Prao-Wiang Papao highway to look out for the two vehicles. When they showed up, the officials then asked for a search which uncovered the ya ba in one pickup truck.

The officials said that the first vehicle in which Samran and Pongsapak were travelling acted as a scout car to look out for police.

Thai PBS

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