Thai 'drug lord' gets plastic surgery to look like 'handsome Korean man' to evade police
While on the run from police, a drug dealer managed to buy himself some extra time by getting several plastic surgeries to change his appearance.
Police had been on the hunt for Saharat Sawangjaeng, 25, for three months for the illegal import of narcotics.
But by changing his appearance to look like a 'handsome Korean man' and changing his name to Korean name Seong Jimin, he managed to evade the law, at least for a little while.
Sahrat was finally caught by police last week at a condominium in Bangkok. Witnesses describing Sahrat - or Seong - to police as a 'handsome Korean man'.
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But, despite his altered appearance, authorities managed to track the drug dealer down by tracing the sale and distribution of ecstasy to other buyers and sellers in Bangkok.
In video footage of Saharat's arrest, he can be heard telling police that he had hoped to move to South Korea.
"I want to start a new life," he had said, "I am bored of Thailand."
When caught by police, Saharat admitted to ordering MDMA over the dark web using cryptocurrencies and selling them to Bangkok residents.
MDMA is a recreational drug, that can also be taken as ecstasy pills, and acts as both a stimulant and a psychedelic.
The drug tends to distort user's concept of time and perception, and enhances the enjoyment of an experience.
Risks involved in MDMA consumption can include muscle tension, dehydration, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, or severe dehydration, and it tends to interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature.
Chronic use can damage the serotonin in a person's system or potentially lead to an overdose.
After his arrest, Saharat also claimed that he mostly imported drugs into Thailand from the Netherlands, but didn't know the identifies of the people he dealt with.
Cops say that when they finally found Saharat Sawangjaeng, none of his original face was left.
Before this week's arrest, Saharat had previously been arrested on at least three separate occasions.
On one occasion, he was arrested on an assault charge when officers discovered he had 290 ecstacy pills and 2kg (4.4lbs) of liquid narcotics in his possession.
Somehow, Saharat managed to escape police custody at one point, which is when he underwent the extensive plastic surgery procedures so authorities would struggle to find him again.
Speaking to the Straits Times, Thai police major-general Theejradej Thammasutee described Saharat as 'one of the main causes of Bangkok's MDMA epidemic.'
He added: "He is a drug lord importing MDMA from Europe at just 25 years old. We believe there are more suspects in foreign countries. We will continue our investigation."
Topics: Drugs, World News, Thailand, Korea, Crime
Ali Condon