A son of alleged northern drug kingpin Laota Sanlee who had dodged police manhunt for 13 years was arrested by police in a major coordinated operation in Mae Ai, Fang and Muang districts of Chiang Mai on Friday.
More than 250 police and military officers were involved in raids of 27 targets in the three districts which include houses, petrol station, orange and coffee plantations and lychee orchards belonging to children and relatives of Laota Sanlee who was booked by police about two weeks ago.
Although no illegal items were found in the multiple raids, police seized official documents which police suspected might link to the ill-gotten properties earlier confiscated by police from the alleged drug kingpin.
Police stumbled on Banyat Sanlee, a son of Laota, in an expensive room at Sopon Mansion apartment belonging to his wife, Mrs Yuwadee. A warrant for the arrest of Banyat was issued by the provincial court 13 years ago, but he had dodged police manhunt for years until his arrest on Friday.
Police seized bank books of Mrs Yuwadee.
Pol Maj-Gen Poonsap Prasertsak, deputy commissioner of 5th Region Provincial Police Bureau, said police were in the process of impounding five houses, a coffee plantaion and a lychee orchard from the Sanlee family.
The family has claimed that the plantations were located on land they rented from the National Park, Wildlife and Plants Conservation Department. But Poonsap said if it was discovered that the land was sub-rented from other people, the plantations would be frozen.
