Saharat Sawangjaeng who is a Thai ‘drug lord’s reportedly changed his name and face to appear as a ‘handsome Korean man’ after undergoing numerous surgical procedures, says police.
The 25-year-old was tracked down by officers who analysed where ecstasy was being distributed to other sellers and buyers in Bangkok. This led them to an individual who they described as having ‘none of his original face left’.
Saharat had wanted ‘a new life’ and perfect disguise in South Korea, but police still managed to track him down and have charged him with the illegal import of narcotics.
Cops said the change in his appearance was such that ‘none of his original face was left’.
The 25-year-old admitted last week to buying drugs with Bitcoin on the dark web before dealing them to customers in Thailand’s capital.
Thai Police major-general Theeradej Thammasutee told The Strait Times that he was ‘importing MDMA – a class one drug from Europe at just 25 years old’, adding that he was ‘one of the main causes of Bangkok’s MDMA epidemic’.
MDMA is a recreational drug taken as ecstasy pills that can act as both a stimulant and psychedelic.
Police have reportedly been trying to track Saharat down since December last year and managed to do so through tracing the distribution of Bangkok’s ecstasy.
Authorities had also previously arrested Saharat three times prior to his surgical procedures and knew what he once looked like.
In one of his arrests, Saharat was allegedly caught with 290 ecstasy pills and 2kg of liquid narcotics when previously detained on an assault charge.
He escaped detention last year despite his arrest – but in recent days was tracked down by officers who analysed where the drug was being distributed to other sellers and buyers in the city.
He went under the knife after managing to escape detention with witnesses then describing him as a ‘handsome Korean man’ to police.
Last week Saharat, who then went by the name of Seong Jimin, was caught by authorities at a condo in Bangkok.
Following his arrest, investigations are said to be taking place regarding further suspects beyond Thailand.
Explaining his dramatic transformation, he told cops: ‘I want to start a new life. I am bored of Thailand.’
He had spent three months with a dramatically different look, reinventing himself as a South Korean national called Jimin Seong.
