BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested the British owner of a restaurant in Bali on suspicion of being a drug mule. They claim to have found half a kilogram of cocaine on Matthew Kevin O’Neill, 40, who was reportedly arrested in Bangkok on Saturday night.
Mr O’Neill, who is the boss of Thai Gardens restaurant in the Umalas area of Bali, is understood to have previously lived in Thailand for 10 years.
Its claimed he told investigators he flew from Bali after closing his restaurant “for renovations” on May 30, and arrived in Thailand last Thursday, the same day it was supposed to reopen.
But police bosses claim Mr O’Neill is part of an illegal drug trafficking gang in which members swallow drug packages and smuggle them into the country.
He is said to have been found with cocaine packages hidden inside a bag he was carrying.
According to the Bangkok Post , Police Major Gen Peensab said Mr O’Neill was found on a public bus and that there were drugs in his backpack.
And Pol Lt Col Jirakrit Jarunphat, deputy superintendent of Thong Lor police station claimed Mr O’Neill said he was paid around 60,000 baht (£1,178) by a man to deliver drugs to another man. The Foreign Office said this evening it was unaware of the incident.
