BANGKOK, Aug 30: Five foreigners suspected of trafficking 40 kilograms heroin out of Thailand were arrested in Bangkok early Saturday in an operation involving US agents, Thai police said.

Two Afghans, two Pakistanis and an American were nabbed at two luxury downtown hotels in the Thai capital and will be extradited to face trial in the United States, where warrants for their arrest were processed through Interpol.

They were among a total of 17 arrested people linked to a major drug ring suspected of smuggling the drugs into the United States in the last few years, Lieutenant Colonel Chakkrit Iamjeangphan of crime suppression police told AFP.

“US authorities arrested 12 members of this ring simultaneously in the United States. We arrested five of them in Thailand,” Chakkrit said.

Thai police cooperated with US Drug Enforcement Administration agents to raid two luxury hotels in downtown Bangkok, capturing the five suspects, he added.

The five, who had opened a jewellery trading firm as a front for their operations here, were still undergoing interrogation.

Thailand is seen as a key transit country for the trade in heroin.

Opinion

Respite needed

Respite needed

All one can fear is a familiar accounting exercise that aims to extract a few more rupees from a narrow, weary economic base.

Editorial

Soft on traders
08 Jun, 2026

Soft on traders

THE Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme for traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs200m has been designed as a ‘pragmatic...
Ceasefire in name
Updated 08 Jun, 2026

Ceasefire in name

Both sides accuse the other of violating the truce that was supposed to halt the conflict in April, yet neither appears willing to abandon negotiations altogether.
Damaged childhoods
08 Jun, 2026

Damaged childhoods

CHILD abuse is so prevalent that the UN ranked Pakistan as the least safe country for children. Even so, more than...
JAAC ban
Updated 07 Jun, 2026

JAAC ban

Though the JAAC’s demands are open to scrutiny, banning any political organisation — as long as it remains committed to peaceful activism — is undemocratic.
GB election
Updated 07 Jun, 2026

GB election

It is important that whichever party ultimately forms the government puts the needs of the people of GB above everything else.
ODI win
07 Jun, 2026

ODI win

AT last, the Pakistan cricket team had something to celebrate: a One-day International series victory against...