Singaporeans held on drug charges

Singaporeans held on drug charges

BANGKOK (AFP): Three Singaporean tourists and a Thai national have been arrested in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai for alleged possession of 24.7 kilograms of heroin, police said yesterday.

Ang Kok Liong, 35, Ong Kway Kau, 37, and Ang Kian Lam, 34, were arrested with Thai national A-kao Saeliab, 42, at a hotel in Hat Yai, about 900 kilometers south of here, narcotics suppression police said.

Police found and confiscated 24.7 kilograms of compressed heroin, a luxury car, three cellular phones, and pagers.

The Bangkok street value of the seized drugs is five million baht (US$200,000), but it could fetch some 100 times that in western markets.

The four men were charged with possession and trafficking of heroin, but have denied the charges, police said. Heroin trafficking in Thailand carries the death sentence, but most cases are commuted to lengthy jail terms.