Swedes arrested. Photo: Thai Examiner.
Thai police say the three Swedish men arrested in Thailand were behind two darknet drug platforms that controlled more than 80 per cent of Europe’s online narcotics market, adding major new details to the case first reported last week, by Thai media.
The three suspects were arrested during coordinated raids at nine locations in Bangkok and Prachuap Khiri Khan under “Operation Pandora.” Thai authorities said the men had allegedly been operating from luxury pool villas, which investigators believe were used as remote command centres for online drug sales across Europe.
At a police press conference on 6 March, investigators identified the two platforms as Archetyp and Mupparna.net. They said earlier investigations in Europe had already led to the seizure of more than 1,000 kilograms of narcotics before digital and financial links pointed to the three Swedish nationals in Thailand.
Police also said 119 items were seized during the Thai raids, including computers, mobile phones, credit cards, documents and digital storage devices now under forensic examination. The suspects, identified as Robert, 47, Daniel, 39, and John, 33, are believed to have been senior figures in the network.
Thai authorities said the men are currently being held under immigration procedures while deportation arrangements are prepared. In the wider international operation, 13 suspects were detained and assets worth more than 100 million baht were seized.