Police locate driver linked to flight attendant drug case

BANGKOK, July 3 (TNA) - Thai authorities have tracked down the driver who delivered a package of narcotics to a flight attendant recently arrested in Australia, police announced.

The joint investigation led to a 59-year-old man from Ayutthaya province who has a prior conviction, having served 20 years of a life sentence for smuggling 10,000 methamphetamine pills in 1997.

The suspect confessed to delivering the package to the flight attendant, identified only as Mina, at her Bangkok condominium on June 22. However, he claimed he was merely hired as a driver by a foreign national who accompanied him.

Police have seized the delivery vehicle, a Toyota, from a repair shop in Ayutthaya for forensic examination.

Financial tracking revealed the smuggling syndicate paid Mina a total of 3,400 baht (around $100 USD) for transporting the contraband, split into two equal installments before her flight. Authorities stated that further details are being withheld to safeguard the ongoing investigation. -819 (TNA)