The Criminal Court has acquitted Myanmar tycoon Tun Min Latt and a son-in-law of Senator Upakit Pacharirangkun on drug trafficking charges, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient.
Prosecutors filed charges against the defendants including Tun Min Latt, a Myanmar businessman, Dean Young Gultula, the senator’s son-in-law and two others as well as the Allure Group (P&E) Co.,Ltd., the electricity supply business.
The charges involved engaging in illicit drugs with serious offences as a criminal organization. Between February 22 and May 10, 2019, the defendants, along with others who are still at large, allegedly conspired to procure methamphetamine, narcotics (Category1).
The accused individuals were assigned various roles, such as handling deposits, withdrawals, and transfers of money, as well as buying and selling drugs into the accounts of the company.
This was purportedly done under the guise of paying electricity bills for the Provincial Electricity Authority in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.
The funds, allegedly obtained from drug trafficking, were then converted into goods categorized as electricity supplies, exported to Myanmar.
The incidents took place in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province, and other related areas. The defendants denied charges.
The court found that the main evidence related to the financial trails was not substantial enough to support the charges against the defendants. Therefore, the court has decided to acquit them.
Tun Min Latt is said to have close ties with Myanmar junta Chief Min Aung Hlaing and to have procured supplies for the military.
The Myanmar mogul was arrested in Bangkok in September 2022 on charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics and money laundering. (TNA)
