Tourist Police Investigation Division 2 launched the operation after social media posts showed stickers on electric poles in popular tourist areas that appeared to advertise illegal drugs.
Pol Lt Col Pittaya Thepmuang and his team opened an investigation, sending an undercover officer into a large Telegram group believed to be used for drug distribution.
According to Tourist Police, the agent made contact with a Russian man known as “Anton” and arranged a drug delivery for 10pm on Friday (Nov 14).
When the suspect arrived at the agreed location, officers moved in and identified themselves before placing him under arrest. A search found several packets of illicit substances similar to those previously recovered at the scene, Tourist Police reported.
The seized drugs were handed over to the Narcotics Suppression Bureau’s Phuket office for testing, which confirmed the substance to be cocaine. The suspect was formally identified as Anton Tiutiaev, 31, a Russian national.
He has been charged with distributing a Category 2 narcotic (cocaine) without a licence and attempting to distribute a Category 2 narcotic without a licence.
Tiutiaev was taken to Chalong Police Station for further legal proceedings, Tourist Police noted.
A check of his documents found he was staying in Thailand on a student visa issued for a private school in Phuket.
However, officers also found him carrying a card bearing the name of an adviser to the Royal Thai Police’s Crime Suppression and Prevention Committee, though police have not confirmed any link to that individual.
The investigation is ongoing.