Police Nab Drug Dealer Posing as Hermit in Ubon Ratchathani
Highway police in Ubon Ratchathani arrested a 44-year-old drug dealer who had been hiding in a forest hut while posing as a Buddhist hermit. The suspect, known only as Khammi, had an outstanding warrant for illegal firearms possession and prior convictions for trafficking amphetamine and producing Category 5 narcotics. He confessed to ordering drugs from Laos to sell to local youths before being taken to court for prosecution.
Highway police raided a forest hideout to arrest a 44-year-old man known as 'Ruesi' who claimed to be observing Buddhist precepts but was actually a major drug agent ordering narcotics from Laos to sell to local youths. The suspect, identified only as Khammi, had an outstanding arrest warrant for illegal firearms possession and previous drug convictions.
On October 23, 2026, a team led by Pol. Lt. Col. Bunlue Phadungthin, Highway Police Division 1 Commander; Pol. Col. Wisanu Khamnonmuang, Highway Police Sub-Division 6 Commander; Pol. Lt. Col. Natiruj Wanatcharat, Highway Police Sub-Division 4 Deputy Commander; Pol. Lt. Col. Somphoch Bunchaya, Highway Police Sub-Division 4 Investigator; and Pol. Capt. Ritta Teukpracon, Deputy Inspector (Investigation), Highway Police Sub-Division 4, executed an arrest warrant issued by Dech Udom Provincial Court (No. 256/2026 dated August 10, 2026) charging 'possession of a firearm without a license from the registrar.' They apprehended Mr. Khammi (surname withheld), age 44, at an unnumbered rice-field hut on the northern edge of Village 7, Ban Tum Subdistrict, Na Yia District, Ubon Ratchathani Province.
The operation followed complaints from local residents in Na Yia District to Ubon Ratchathani Highway Police about a man who had secretly built a shelter deep in the forest, using the difficult terrain to hide. He was reportedly running a drug den and acting as an agent secretly ordering methamphetamine from across the border in Laos to sell to village youths, causing widespread concern.
Investigators discovered that beyond his drug use, Khammi had an outstanding warrant for a firearms offense. They conducted a covert investigation, learning that the suspect fled whenever police approached, using his knowledge of the terrain to escape. The team then surrounded all entry and exit routes to the rice-field hut — a 'dead-end' location — before storming in and apprehending him.
During questioning, Khammi confessed that the drugs he sold to local youths came from a Laotian national whose real name he did not know; the drugs were delivered to a meeting point in the village. He claimed he had fled into the deep forest to live as a 'ruesi' hermit, wishing to avoid the outside world and live in solitude.
However, a criminal background check revealed he had previously served about two years in Ubon Ratchathani Central Prison for possession with intent to sell Category 1 narcotics (amphetamine) and Category 5 narcotics production. He was released only in December 2023 but did not reform, returning to drug dealing under the guise of a hermit. Police have transferred the suspect to Dech Udom Provincial Court for further legal proceedings.
