A Turkish and a Nigerian national have been arrested separately in Phuket.
Pol Maj Wisarut Laiadong, deputy superintendent of Phuket Immigration Office, said the office was notified by the Foreign Affairs Division of the Foreign Affairs Ministry to revoke a visa of a 32-year-old Turkish man identified only as Mr Taskin as an arrest warrant is out for him from Turkey for a charge of carrying a firearm in public.
The police said the immigration office received the request last Tuesday at 3.30pm and after verifying the information, it was confirmed that the suspect was wanted on a Red Notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol). He also had another warrant issued by Turkey dated Oct 10 last year for purchasing, carrying, or possessing firearms and ammunition without permission and illegally obtaining or disseminating personal information.
The suspect was arrested on Thursday and taken to the Phuket Immigration Bureau while he was awaiting deportation.
Meanwhile, a 37-year-old Nigerian man was arrested on Thursday in Thalang district for possessing cocaine.
Pol Capt Thiraphon Nitichat, deputy chief of the Phuket Immigration Police, said yesterday that the suspect was identified as Mr Johnpaul Ifeanyi Duru. Police raided his rented house after receiving information that the foreigner was selling drugs to other foreigners in the area. Police monitored his activity until they had enough evidence to take him in.
A police team showed up at the house and knocked on his door. Another officer looked through the window and saw the suspect acting suspiciously, walking back and forth inside the house before opening the door.
Police identified themselves and raided the house. They found cocaine in nine bags with a total weight of 7.2 grammes. Police said Mr Duru accepted that the drugs were his and he had ordered them from a foreign man whose name and nationality he did not know. The last time he ordered 12 bags of cocaine was about two weeks ago. He said he bought it for 2,000 baht per pack of 0.8 grammes. He received the drug from the unidentified man at Bang Tao Beach.
He resold them for 3,000 baht per pack, leaving only nine packs that the police had seized. Police charged him with processing a Category 2 narcotic drug for sale and took him to Thalang Police Station.
