Two Thai women have been arrested for allegedly smuggling 10 million baht in cocaine through Krabi airport.
Siriwan Yodteerak, 32, and Aaew Wijit, 34, were arrested in the southern province on Sunday and brought to a news conference at the Customs Department in Bangkok on Monday.
Wichak Apiraknanchai, chief of the department's investigative unit, said Ms Siriwan left Manila on an AirAsia flight and changed planes in Kuala Lumpur before arriving in Krabi on Saturday at 7.30am.
However, her suitcase flew on another flight and arrived on Sunday at 7.30am. Mr Wichak said an X-ray scan found suspicious items in her bag. A more-thorough check uncovered a black plastic bag containing 2.6 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment. The drugs have an estimated street value of 10.4 million baht.
Officials arrested Ms Siriwan when she came to collect the luggage. Police inquiries led to the arrest of Ms Aaew at a hotel in Krabi.
Ms Sriwan confessed that she was hired for 60,000 baht by Ms Aaew's African boyfriend to smuggle the illicit narcotics from the Philippines to Thailand.
She claimed the foreign man tried to persuade her to be a drug mule several times, but she always declined. She gave in -- and got caught -- because she had a financial problem.
The women have been charged with possession of a Class 2 narcotic with intent to sell, and smuggling drugs into Thailand. Police are trying to locate Ms Aaew's boyfriend, whose whereabouts are unknown.
A customs officer shows the bag used to carry the seized cocaine. (Photo by Panupong Changchai)