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.
Faisal Nadeem (right) has been arrested for illegal drugs, pirated clothing and smuggled cigarettes.
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.
