The man was placed under arrest at about 3:30pm yesterday (Feb 20), reported the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket). Thalang Police and Phuket Provincial Police have yet to report the arrest.
The man remained unidentified in the report.
Regardless, the report noted that the task force comprised Phuket Provincial Police and Thalang Police as well as district officials, the local village headman and security personnel from the Phuket Volunteer Defense Force (OrSor).
The arrest followed a complaint of a shop selling boiled kratom juice to teenagers in front of Wat Nai Yang, in Moo 1, Sakhu, the report explained.
The man was taken to Sakhu Police Station and charged with selling and distributing a product banned by the Ministry of Public Health, the report confirmed.
Photos of the raid showed that the man was producing the illegal drink in bulk, with one photo showing more than 100 bottles of kratom juice ready for sale.
Officials in the Nai Yang and Sakhu area have clear umbrage against people using kratom juice after a man under the influence of the drink hanged his 11-month-old daughter then himself in a video broadcast live on Facebook in 2017.