Three Australian ’bikies’ charged in Thailand drug raids
Three Aussie men allegedly part of the Hells Angels are accused of supplying drugs to tourists in Thailand and smuggling drugs into Australia.
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Exclusive: Drugs seized during a raid in the Thai tourist resort village of Pattaya were destined for sale on Australian streets, police revealed as a third Australian man, Tihomer Stojic, 47, was arrested and charged with offences linked to an international drug trafficking ring.
It is alleged the trio of Australians arrested are part of the Hells Angels Outlaw Motor Cycle Gang which is based in Thailand and has forged links to the infamous Golden Triangle.
Police believe the men were involved in supplying drugs to tourists in Thailand as well as smuggling drugs into Australia.
More than 1kg of crystal meth was seized in a raid on a villa in Pattaya late last week.
Two Australian men, Jamie Robert Hanson, 47, and Steven Brett Hovi, 58, were arrested at the scene and charged.
A short time later Stojic was arrested in another Thai Province.
Mr Stojic who is married to a Thai woman, is alleged to be closely linked with the other men. Police sources said the men initially denied knowing each other, but photos of them together were found on their mobile phones.
It is understood Stojic and Hanson went to school together in Australia.
Thai Police have alleged that the Australians planned to smuggle the drugs into Australia where they could get a higher price.
Police said more arrests are expected as they continue their investigations.
“The arrests so far only represent a small amount of their operation,” said a police source.
The three Australians were arrested along with a Nigerian man who tried to escape off a balcony.
They have been refused bail because of the seriousness of the drug charges.
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It is understood the men were arrested after police received a tip-off and they attached a GPS tracker to the car of Mr Hanson.
Police then climbed over the high walls and locked gates of the Pattaya villa as they raced to gain entry.
During the raid on the villa, police found $90,000 worth of ice hidden inside a backpack, a fridge and a candle.
They also found several guns including a Smith and Wesson revolver.
The Nigerian man was identified as 38-year-old Chimezie Stanley Duru while two Thai women were named as 35-year-old Jiraporn Kiatsutthachit and 34-year-old Wirapha Ungsri.
A third Thai woman detained has not been identified.
It is believed the Nigerian national has links to the West African Mafia operating out of Bangkok.
It is understood he was pretending to be a taxi driver and supplying the drugs in bulk for the Australian to on-sell.
Thai police are linking the raid to two notorious underworld bikie gangs and crime rackets including the Hells Angels gang and the Comancheros which have been linked to serious crime in Pattaya for some time.
Police have expressed concerns that bikie group operations have been escalating in recent times with drugs shipments to Australia and New Zealand, as well as other countries.
Mr Hovi is an engineer who had been living in Thailand for the past five years.
He is an engineer and had a stable job. He denied to any close association with Mr Hanson and Mr Stojic.
It is understood Mr Hovi has refused to give any details about where in Australia he is from.
In the past year Thai authorities have refused entry to the leader of the Comanchero bikie gang, Michael O’Brien, who had arrived for a holiday from his home in Melbourne.
Originally published as Three Australian ’bikies’ charged in Thailand drug raids