Pinoy among 6 arrested in drug bust in Thailand

A Filipino was among six people arrested in Thailand Wednesday for allegedly being part of an international drug trafficking network whose operations included the United States and the Philippines.
 
The six were arrested in Phuket as part of a joint operation with Nigeria and Kenya, Thailand's Bangkok Post on Friday quoted police as saying.
 
Police arrested Joseph Manuel Hunter, 47, the drug network's alleged leader, and five suspected accomplices on Wednesday evening.
 
Arrested along with Hunter were two Britons, a Slovakian, a Filipino and a Taiwanese. The six were flown to Bangkok Thursday for questioning.
 
"This group was considered to be a big network that spanned many countries," including Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines," it quoted deputy police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang as saying.

Somyot also described Hunter as a "leading drug lord" wanted for drug smuggling, trafficking and other international crimes.
 
Narcotics Suppression Division 1 commander Chaiya Rujjanavet said police forces in Nigeria and Kenya conducted similar operations on the same day, arresting two eastern European men in Nigeria and two others in Kenya.
 
The Bangkok Post quoted police as saying Hunter served in the US Navy, and his alleged accomplices were also believed to have had military training.
 
"All these people were trained to kill," police Lt Gen Somyot said at a police airport in Bangkok.
 
The secret operation was a joint effort of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) working with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
 
Hunter was on the DEA's most wanted list, the Bangkok Post report said.
 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Manasvi Srisodapol said Thursday the ministry had received a letter from the US embassy on Sept. 17.
 
The ministry then asked the Office of the Attorney-General to seek arrest warrants for the suspects.

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