Thai Drug Lord Arrested Despite Completely Altering Looks With Extensive Plastic Surgery
"None of his original [features] were left," Thai police said when they arrested Sarahat Sawangjaeng.
By Jasmine Chea — 27 Feb 2023, 02:27 PM
Infamous Thai drug lord, Sarahat Sawangjaeng, has been arrested by Thai police in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, 24 February
The 25-year-old drug trafficker, who has been wanted by police since December 2022, was finally nabbed by local authorities at his luxury condominium in the Bang Na district of Bangkok.
According to Thaiger, Sarahat was under investigation for illegally importing significant amounts of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or commonly known by its street name, molly or ecstasy.
In November last year, Thai police discovered 2,575 grams of MDMA and 290 ecstasy pills contained in a packaged jigsaw puzzle box. The drugs were later traced back to Sarahat.
Sarahat's modus operandi was to import MDMA from European countries and later sell it to locals in Bangkok or surrounding areas
The drug lord would acquire the drugs through underground websites and pay for them with Bitcoin.
In order to catch the elusive suspect, Thai police sent an undercover cop to pose as someone interested in becoming Sarahat's "drug mule".
The undercover sting operation proved to be successful when Sarahat agreed to make the cop his drug mule, where authorities managed to obtained the suspect's contact and location, leading to his arrest.
When arrested, police were shocked to discover how much Sarahat had altered his appearance to avoid detection from authorities
Cops described Sarahat's new appearance as a "handsome Korean man". According to Thai police, Sarahat had altered his appearance so much that "none of his original [features] were left".
Sarahat also had changed his name to Jimin Cheong.
He was arrested for risking the security and safety of the country and nation by importing a Category 1 narcotic into Thailand for distribution.
"This villain is one of the main causes of Bangkok's MDMA epidemic. We have been looking for him for almost three months. He had surgery to disguise himself," said police major-general Thammasutee.
"He is a drug lord importing MDMA from Europe at just 25 years old. We believe there are more suspects in foreign countries. We will continue our investigation," he added.
Two mobile phones belonging to "Cheong" that were used to carry out drug deals were seized by police as well as 22 of his other assets.
