Thai cops hunt for drugs ring that supplied heroin to air hostess caught in Australia
Thai police are hunting for the drugs ring that supplied heroin to a glamorous air hostess allegedly caught with the narcotics in Australia.
Mina Kondo, 26, a Thai Airways flight attendant and beauty pageant queen, was arrested at Melbourne Airport on June 25 when her baggage was screened by Australian Border Force officers.
Officers checked her 12 tote bags and discovered a white powder concealed within the lining of the bags. It tested positive for heroin, with an estimated street value of AUD500,000.
Tall brunette Mina was charged with importing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug and possessing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
She was remanded in custody on June 26 and is scheduled to reappear before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 14.
Thai cops said the search is ongoing for a Grab delivery driver accused of dropping off the suspected drugs package for Mina at her apartment on June 22.
Police Major Suriya Singkamol, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, said today that a courier has come forward to cooperate with investigations, but he was not the man being sought.
He said: 'He had delivered a parcel to Mina, but it was a different package that arrived on June 23 at 11:10 am and was not linked to the narcotics case.
'The driver seen in the CCTV footage was wearing a black hoodie, driving a dark-coloured car and delivering a standard brown cardboard box. In contrast, the rider who came forward was wearing a Flash Express uniform, riding a motorcycle and delivering a black parcel box.
'If the driver knowingly took part in the offence, he will face prosecution. But if he was simply carrying out a legitimate delivery and can provide evidence of that, he will not be held liable.'
Mina and her boyfriend had reportedly opened the parcel box and unzipped the bags to inspect their contents before placing them in her suitcase, but neither of them found any heroin because it had been concealed within the fabric lining of the tote bags.
According to her statement to the Australian Federal Police, Mina also said she had opened the bags but did not notice any suspicious items.
Mina told investigators that she had been contacted by a Facebook account under the name 'Rose'.
The account regularly posted in a private group seeking people with around 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of spare checked baggage allowance.
The sender claimed they wanted to send gifts to a friend in Australia and would offer a payment of 8,800 baht.
Police said they have obtained the complete chat logs between Mina and Rose, and are currently tracing the owner of the now-deactivated account.
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) urged anyone who had been contacted or hired by Rose to come forward with more information regarding the suspected drug trafficking ring, believed to involve both Thais and foreign nationals.
Police Major Suriya said: ‘The smuggling methods identified take two forms.
‘The first involves concealing narcotics in parcels from overseas before shipping them into Thailand.
‘The second involves bringing the narcotics into Thailand before repackaging or disguising them locally and forwarding them to destinations abroad.
‘We are accelerating the investigation to identify and trace all those involved.'
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board has been coordinating closely with the Australian Federal Police, as well as the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra and the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Melbourne, to provide Mina with legal assistance and consular support in accordance with her fundamental rights.
The police chief said Thai and Australian authorities are continuing to exchange investigative information.
Thailand will expand its investigation into the suspected network within the country, while Australian authorities will conduct their own investigation and assess the evidence under Australian law.
However, he noted that Australian law imposes strict conditions on the international transfer of evidence, particularly in cases where the country requesting the evidence retains the death penalty as a maximum sentence.
Australian authorities are expected to take approximately four weeks to review the evidence before deciding whether to prosecute and, if so, what charges should be filed.
Mina was reportedly denied bail and is permitted to communicate only with her mother.
She is scheduled to appear in court on September 14.
