"Poker-faced" kingpin suspect arrested

A "poker-faced" alleged drug kingpin was arrested yesterday and he promptly accused the police of accepting bribes.

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Soldiers escorted Adisak "Benz Thasai" Srisa-ard, the accused leader of a major drug ring in Suphan Buri, to a press conference in Bangkok after his arrest on Wednesday in Kanchanaburi. PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

Police arrest kingpin suspect

Piyarach Chongcharoen & Satein Tuamchan

Benz Thasai posted this photo along with threats against Suphan Buri police on his Facebook account last year.

Kanchanaburi: Police on Wednesday arrested Adisak Srisa-ard, or "Benz Thasai", 26, the suspected leader of a major drug ring in Suphan Buri, who allegedly issued violent threats against Si Prachan police in Suphan Buri in a recent Facebook post.

About 7am yesterday, officers at Ban Phra Chedi security checkpoint informed the district police chief they spotted a man who looked like Mr Adisak travelling on a public bus from the Dan Chedi Sam Ong border pass to downtown Sangkhla Buri.

Mr Adisak was wanted on two arrest warrants issued last year in Suphan Buri.

A combined police-military force then detained Mr Adisak at a checkpoint near Takhian Thong waterfall and a helicopter was dispatched from the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok to bring him to the capital for further questioning.

Adisak speaks to the press. PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

Upon learning the suspect was en route to Kanchanaburi from Myanmar, police had screened every bus, national police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang said.

"Poker face" comes from the gambling game poker in which players try not to show any sign on their face that they have strong cards or weak cards. "Poker-faced," then, refers to an expression on your face that does not show what you are thinking or feeling. AFP / Joe Raedle

Mr Adisak told police he went into hiding in Myanmar but was no longer involved in drug trafficking. During the interrogation, he kept a poker face, and did not appear to be worried, said a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Mr Adisak claimed the deputy police chief of Si Prachan district accepted bribes and he had a video clip to prove it. Though the clip was deleted from his mobile phone, it can still be retrieved, he said.

Deputy Suphan Buri police chief Pol Col Chairat Thipayachan said if Mr Adisak does not trust local police, he can submit his evidence to the Provincial Police Region 7.

Late last year, Mr Adisak threatened the Si Prachan police on Facebook after suspects in his alleged drug-trafficking ring were arrested.

Hailing from Suphan Buri, he allegedly became a drug mule at 21 years old and climbed the ranks to become the kingpin of the largest narcotics ring in Suphan Buri and nearby provinces.

After dominating the domestic trade, he purportedly entered the cross-border narcotics trade with a Myanmar gang led by Lt Col Yi Se, who is wanted in Thailand and has a 5-million-baht reward on his head for information leading to his arrest. Mr Adisak is currently being detained in Suphan Buri on drugs and weapons charges.

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