International
Thai Muay Thai Instructor Caught Smuggling 72 Heroin Capsules in Taiwan
PHNOM PENH, August 19, 2026 – A Thai woman who also works as a Muay Thai instructor has been arrested at Kaohsiung International Airport in Taiwan after allegedly swallowing 72 heroin capsules in an attempt to smuggle the drugs into the country, according to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration.
The Kaohsiung Criminal Investigation Team had received intelligence that foreign nationals were attempting to bring drugs into Taiwan by concealing them in luggage or inside their bodies. Officers intercepted the woman on April 6 and arrested her on suspicion of trafficking heroin, a category 1 controlled substance under Taiwanese law.
Investigators said the capsules contained a total of 289.1 grammes of heroin, valued at approximately NT$3.6 million (about 3.72 million baht). Each capsule was tightly wrapped in plastic. Authorities warned that if the wrapping had dissolved in stomach acid, the leaked heroin could have been fatal, describing the method as extremely dangerous.
The woman was hospitalised and given medication to help pass the capsules naturally. The process took 10 days, during which she required round-the-clock monitoring due to her work as a Muay Thai instructor, according to Radio Taiwan.
She has been referred for prosecution under Taiwan's narcotics prevention law. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office is preparing to file the case in court, and she has been ordered detained pending further proceedings.
— Source: The Thaiger
https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/thai-woman-held-in-taiwan-over-swallowing-72-heroin-capsules
Khaosod English
Reported by The Khmer Today