Thailand police arrested an American and five other people wanted in the United States for operating a suspected international drug trafficking chain running from Asia to the U.S.
Alleged drug lord Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48, along with five of his suspected associates, were taken into police custody on Wednesday night on the island of Phuket, the Associated Press reported. Thai deputy police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang reported that the arrests were a portion of a sting operation that began after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a probe into the reported drug ring.
Somyot said Hunter was a "leading drug lord" who committed drug smuggling, trafficking, and a slew of other international crimes that he didn't identify.
"This group was considered to be a big network that spanned many countries," including Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore, Somyot told AP.
Police reported that Hunter was a member of the U.S. Navy, and that the five other suspects also allegedly had a military background.
"All these people were trained to kill," Somyot announced at an airport in Bangkong, where the six were sent off Thursday to travel from Phuket to the U.S.
Each of the suspects - including two British citizens, a Slovak, a Filipino and a Taiwanese - will be sent to New York, where an arrest warrant was first issued in July, according to Asia Pacific news site Free District.
Somyot stated that the DEA got in touch with officials in Thailand a few months ago, as they believed Hunter was hiding in Phuket.
Spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok Walter Braunohler said he could not comment when the Associated Press called with questions.
