Nine held in drug raid

They said one of the accused worked as 'body snatcher' for a charity foundation that takes street accident victims to hospital or the graveyard.

The nine suspects, including Poh Tech Tung foundation worker Phisitphol Nillueng and a woman, dealt drugs with a number of inmates in a Ratchaburi prison, said Pol Maj General Phanu Kerdlarpphol, a deputy Bangkok police chief who supervised the case.

Police initially arrested two suspects in a sting operation at a petrol station in Bangkok's Nong Khaem district. Their confession led to the arrests of seven other suspects, including Phisitphol, alleged to be the leader of the racket.

Police confiscated a total of 24,200 pills in two subsequent raids, a pickup truck, a car, a handgun and ammunition, and a hearse registered to the foundation.

Police are looking further into the case while seeking an inmate identified by Phisitphol as Kueng.