Nichanat Pussarangsi, aka Aoi , arrested, at her apartment unit in Soi Onnuj 17 and seized 190 grammes of cocaine.

Arrest of two Thai members of a drug gang that tricks Thai women into becoming drug couriers is just the first step in a clampdown on a West Africa-based drug trafficking network.Narcotics Suppression Bureau chief Wuthi Liptapanlop views the case in which he and his investigative team spent nine months as only a half measure of success.The team is taking further steps to bring the masterminds - the West African drug traffickers - to justice, he said.The arrest is just the first in a series of exciting scenes that will follow, said Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi, as his team works with foreign police to close in on the culprits.On Feb 5 officers nabbed Nichanat Pussarangsi, aka Aoi India, 37, at her apartment unit in Soi Onnuj 17 and seized 190 grammes of cocaine. They also swooped on Wanna Wiriyanon, 39, who possessed cocaine weighing 30 grammes, in front of Pata department store in the Pin Klao area.The two women helped the gang in its recruitment of female drug mules, mainly from restaurants and nightspots in the Nana, Patpong and Sukhumvit areas. They deceived them into carrying drugs mainly from India to sell in China.India is a hub where drugs smuggled from Pakistan or Afghanistan are transported to other countries such as China and the United States, police said.Gang members often trick people into becoming involved by offering them jobs abroad, typically as house maids and restaurant waitresses, police said.But when they arrive in India, they are intimidated into transporting drugs. "These ladies are tormented and forced to do the job," Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said. "I would say the gang members are inhumane. The ladies have two options: to die there or to work for the gangs."
The women are ordered to hide drugs in bags, shoes and other belongings on their trips to China. Some women are forced to swallow drugs - they are told they are swallowing gold pieces to avoid tax charges.Most women obey their orders because they believe it is the only way they can return to Thailand. However, Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said many of these women came to tragic ends. They were arrested either before leaving India or reaching China.Police said 58 Thai women have been arrested in China and 10 in India.Many have been sentenced to death because they are unable to provide evidence to prove they were deceived into trafficking drugs, Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said.Thai officers now looking into the case hope to help Thai women who, he said, are victims, not criminals.The Narcotics Suppression Bureau is working with the Foreign Ministry to help women who are being prosecuted in the two countries. Many could face life in jail or the death sentence if urgent action is not taken."But at this point, I still have no idea how much we can help them," Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said.His team needs to find evidence to back the argument that the women are in fact being manipulated by gangs.
Labelling it as an "astonishing case", Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said the gang's activities were not easily monitored or traced in Thailand because the drugs are not kept here. As a result, many women have been lured to work with the gang without the police being aware.
"It's astonishing," Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said. "The crime connects many countries. We have a lot of work to do to trace its network."