A British man was arrested for allegedly helping a foreign website operator market nearly 10 million baht in illegal steroids, sedatives and sexual-performance drugs.
Neil Patterson Hartley, 58, was taken into custody at the Mickey Beer Bar on Soi Buakaow Nov. 4. In a later raid of his View Talay 6 condominium office, Bangkok Crime Suppression Division investigators discovered a pharmacy’s worth of drugs being packaged for overseas distribution.
Police hunted down and arrested Hartley at a beer bar complex in central Pattaya.
Among the contraband were sexual-performance drugs Kamagra jelly, Levitra, and Viagra. Police said several of these were branded copies of the actual drug. Also in the office were sleeping pills and stronger sedatives such as diazepam. Most were packed in bottles or envelopes ready for distribution. Investigators also uncovered a cache of illegal steroids, including HG521c.
Hartley was charged with purchase, concealment and distribution of illegal narcotics, import-export violations, pharmaceutical-license offenses and working without a work permit.
Police allege Hartley was behind a website marketing the drugs to overseas customers. The suspect denied he owned the website, saying it was operated by a Keith Ireland, who was out of the country. The website reportedly was registered in Uzbekistan.
Website company staffer Jariya Paromphao, who opened the door for investigators, told police the drugs were all purchased inside Thailand.
Investigators raided a second office and uncovered additional drugs, plus financial records indicating Hartley earned as much as 3 million baht per year.
