Faisal Nadeem (right) has
been arrested for illegal drugs, pirated clothing and smuggled
cigarettes.
Boonlua Chatree
Police raids of two Soi Buakaow commercial buildings
uncovered more than 10 million baht in illegal drugs, pirated clothing
and smuggled cigarettes.
The team of Pattaya officers first stormed Mali’s
Travel & Laundry July 5, finding a hidden 3 cu. meter vault behind
sliding doors and security code. Inside investigators discovered sexual
performance drugs, illegally imported cigarettes, sleeping pills,
steroids and allergy drugs often cooked to create methamphetamines.
Police arrested building owner Faisal Nadeem, 42, who
allegedly confessed to living in Pattaya for more than a decade using
his businesses as a front for illegal drug and counterfeit-goods sales.
After rounding up the Pakistani and his Thai workers,
police moved to a second building Nadeem leased. The three-story
commercial building was used entirely as a warehouse for more than
10,000 contraband items, including counterfeit clothing, shoes and bags.
Turned over to Chonburi Provincial Police, Nadeem
reportedly confessed he took delivery of the drugs from a friend in
Bangkok once a month and the counterfeit items from a Thai supplier in
the capital. He said he acted as a distributor for smaller fake clothing
vendors, not a direct seller.
At the scene, police recovered a list of the clothing
merchants and pharmacies Nadeem allegedly brokered his goods to and
police will begin pursuing them immediately, Lt. Gen. Tangai said.
