Thai police yesterday launched a full-scale search for a Hong Kong man believed to be the leader of a heroin-smuggling ring.
The hunt follows the arrest on Wednesday of a man with Hong Kong travel documents, Chang Seo-hwen, 40, who was held after 23.5 kilograms of heroin, worth 300 million to 500 million baht (HK$96.8 million to HK$161 million) was seized at a house in the beach resort of Pattaya, 150 kilometres south of Bangkok.
Police said the gang had bought huge amounts of heroin for export to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
Chang was charged with intent to sell the heroin, but police said he had denied any knowledge of the drug.
They said the alleged gang leader, who escaped the early-morning raid on the house, was using the name Liun Yun-dong.
A third alleged gang member, believed to be Taiwanese, also escaped.