Forensic tests showed an unidentified Asian man whose body was stuffed in a suitcase found in the Khlong Ong Ang canal was a crystal methamphetamine drug mule, likely for international drug traffickers, police said Monday.
Pol Maj Gen Pornchai Suthirakhun, chief of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital, said pathologists found 55 chunks of crystal meth wrapped in plastic bags in his stomach. Each chunk weighed 10-50 grammes.
Some of the drug-filled bags ruptured, killing him by acute drug intoxication. Traffickers may have thrown his body into the canal to conceal their crime, Pol Maj Gen Pornchai said.
The official cause of death would be released in a week.
None of the wounds found on the drug mule's body were fatal and likely were caused by animal teeth or nails. The man had been dead for at least three days, he added.
The deceased's nationality is unknown, but police said he likely was from an South Asian country, probably India, Bangladesh or Nepal, citing belongings found in the suitcase.
A source close to the investigation said Monday the bag used to hide the man's body was bought from Pratunam area. A witness told police he had seen the bag in the canal since Thursday.