Thailand arrests Myanmar military-linked businessman suspected of drug trafficking

Thai authorities said on Wednesday they had detained a Myanmar tycoon suspected of drug trafficking, who three sources said was linked to the upper echelons of Myanmar's ruling military junta.

Tun Min Latt, 53, was arrested in the Thai capital Bangkok in a dawn raid last week along with three Thai nationals on charges of conspiracy to traffic narcotics and money laundering, said Thailand's deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen.

"Police are in the process of requesting the court for pre-trial detention," Kissana told Reuters by phone.

Three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Tun Min Latt, who has business interests in hotels, energy and mining, is a close associate of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and has procured supplies for the military.

British authorities sanctioned one of Tun Min Latt's businesses in August in what they called an "effort to limit the military's access to arms and revenue."

Myanmar state media have published pictures of Tun Min Latt with the junta leader, including at an arms fair in Bangkok in 2019.

A 2019 UN document says Tun Min Latt is the son of a retired Myanmar lieutenant colonel and that a company he part-owns had made donations amounting to about US$71,500 to the Myanmar military in 2017.

Reuters' requests for comment from Tun Min Latt and his companies were not answered. Calls to a Myanmar military spokesperson also went unanswered.

In a statement, Kissana later said the police anti-drugs unit had asked a court to extend the suspects' detention to gather more evidence and investigate the network. He said police also confiscated assets worth over 200 million baht (US$5.4 million) from the four suspects.

Myanmar's military seized power from the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and has since sought to consolidate power through a deadly crackdown on opposition.

A source with knowledge of Tun Min Latt's case - who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to media - said his arrest is part of a broader Thai crackdown on money laundering from narcotics in the border town of Tachileik in Myanmar's Shan state.

The Thai government's Office of the Narcotics Control Board declined comment.