Japanese prosecutors have decided not to indict a 28-year-old Thai woman arrested after 900 grammes of crystal methamphetamine was found hidden inside coffee sachets she carried into Japan, concluding she had no apparent intent or prior links to an international drug-trafficking network, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board said on Friday.
ONCB deputy secretary-general Areepak Ngernbamroong said Japanese authorities had informed Thai officials that prosecutors decided not to proceed with charges against Juthathip Thongnoi, who was detained at Fukuoka Airport on July 12 after drugs were discovered concealed in a 12-kilogramme shipment of coffee products she had agreed to carry to Japan.
Details behind the decision are still being coordinated with Japanese authorities. However, preliminary information indicated prosecutors believed Ms Juthathip was unaware the package contained narcotics and was acting only as a courier transporting goods for a customer.
They also found no evidence linking her to any transnational drug-trafficking syndicate and noted she had no prior drug-related record.
Ms Areepak said decisions to prosecute or not prosecute foreign suspects in drug cases depend on available evidence and the circumstances of each case.
Following the non-indictment decision, Japanese immigration authorities are expected to coordinate with Thailand's Department of Consular Affairs to facilitate Ms Juthathip's return home as soon as possible.
Ms Juthathip is reportedly scheduled to arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday aboard Thai Airways flight TG649 from Fukuoka at about 2pm.
Criminal proceedings will be handled by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, while authorities shift their focus to expanding the investigation into those behind the suspected trafficking network.
According to Ms Areepak, investigators are also examining the role of a male courier who delivered the package to Ms Juthathip's home before her departure. Narcotics police and a team led by Pol Maj Gen Theeradej Thamsuthee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, had reviewed CCTV footage and confirmed that the man personally delivered the parcel by car after being hired to do so.
Police have also traced his movements after the delivery, but he has yet to contact authorities to demonstrate he was not involved in the network.
"The courier has yet to come forward. Investigators will determine whether the available evidence is sufficient to seek a court’s arrest warrant," Ms Areepak said.
The case drew public attention after Ms Juthathip's family insisted she had unknowingly transported the package for a customer through her parcel-carrying service for Thais living in Japan. Officials at Fukuoka Airport later found crystal meth hidden inside coffee sachets in a parcel Ms Juthathip accepted shortly before the trip.
