Thai police have arrested five Iranians and charged them with drug smuggling and trafficking, an offence that carries a maximum punishment of death

Thai police have arrested five Iranians and charged them with drug smuggling and trafficking, an offence that carries a maximum punishment of death, officials said Thursday.
Authorities said a total of 5.8 kilos (12.8 pounds) of "ice" crystal methamphetamine, worth about half a million dollars, was found in the luggage of the suspects, who arrived on the same flight from the United Arab Emirates.
"We believe that they are in the same gang but we cannot prove it," said Police Major Ronnakorn Sukmongkol.
The suspects -- three men and two women in their 20s and 30s -- all admitted that they were paid to take the drugs to Malaysia, police said.
Thailand, along with other countries in the region, has seen a marked increase in seizures of methamphetamine as the world opiate trade declines.
Although drug trafficking can result in the death penalty in Thailand, executions are now rare.

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