A Singaporean drug smuggler who was arrested this week in Samut Prakan will be deported back to his country, where he is likely to be given the death penalty, officials said on Wednesday.
Benny Kee Soon Chuan ran a smuggling operation involving crystal meth, ketamine and ecstasy, to Australia and Singapore via Thailand, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
Further investigation showed the suspect was involved in two previous smuggling cases in which drugs were shipped to Singapore and Australia in 2021.
Local investigators found he had fled his country and was living a luxurious life in Bang Phli district in Samut Prakan.
The man’s Thai visa was cancelled, and officers of Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau joined with Thai authorities to arrest him on Tuesday. Assets worth 15 million baht were also seized.
The ONCB is working to have the man deported. Under Singaporean law, those who engage in drug trafficking can face capital punishment.