The Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced a prison official attached to the Chiang Mai Central Prison to 25 years in jail and a fine of 1.5 million baht for possessing crystal methamphetamine, or "ya ice", with intent to sell.
Thananupong Duangban, 37, an official at Chiang Mai prison before he was moved to the Bangkok Remand Prison, was arrested after Bangkok police found 30 grammes of ice hidden in a secret compartment of his car parked in front of a Krungthai Bank branch in Huay Kwang district on Nov 16 last year. The drugs, with a face value of 45,900 baht, were found in a plastic bag inside a parcel.
Mr Thananupong confessed to the drug charges during interrogation.
The court convicted him on the drug charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine of 3 million baht. As he confessed to the charges, the court commuted the sentence to 25 years in jail and a fine of 1.5 million baht.