This archive report was first published on 22 August 2019.
On August 21, 2019, Thai authorities arrested a Kenyan man at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine into the country.
According to reports, Glenn Chibasellow Ooko, a 43-year-old Kenyan national, had swallowed 68 packets of cocaine before flying from Ethiopia on Monday.
Thai police detected the suspicious contents of his stomach during a routine check at the airport.
X-ray photos provided by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) showed rectangular objects, which were later found to be 68 cocaine packets weighing 1.2 kilograms.
Thai police also arrested Osita Joseph Ukpa, a Nigerian national, who is alleged to have hired Ooko to smuggle the drugs.
Drug trafficking is a capital offense in Thailand, punishable by death.
Thailand remains a popular transit point for smugglers of methamphetamine, despite its porous borders making it easier for transnational crime networks to smuggle drugs through Myanmar and Laos before moving to other countries.
