British man facing the death penalty after being accused of drug dealing in Thailand

A British man caught by undercover police allegedly dealing class-A drugs to tourists is facing the death penalty in Thailand.

Charly Garcia, from London, is accused of selling extremely dangerous narcotics to other tourists in the Southeast Asian country.

The 48-year-old was allegedly using the messaging app Telegram to arrange the dealing of cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and various hallucinogenics.

Officers were reportedly alerted that Garcia had been dealing narcotics, and an undercover agent set up a meeting with him to buy £2,000 worth of drugs.

The undercover agent allegedly alerted other officers when he was given the drugs and police stormed into the cannabis shop to arrest Garcia on Tuesday.

He was then taken back to his room at the Mountain View Condominium in Chang Phueak where they found 408 grams of cocaine, 595 grams of magic mushrooms, and 160 pills of Diazepam and Alprazolam, Thai newspaper The Nation reported.

Garcia was questioned at Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station over the alleged offences.

He faces life in prison and the death penalty if found guilty.

Chiang Mai Provincial Police Major General Thawatchai Pongwiwattanachai claimed Garcia admitted the offences.

He said: ‘The suspect claimed it was his first time selling narcotics, but we didn’t believe him because our investigation revealed he has a history of selling narcotics in Bangkok.

‘He had entered Thailand on a student visa, which we believe was a ruse to allow him to stay in the country selling drugs. 

‘He didn’t study language like he was supposed to. He only studied drugs.

‘We are investigating further as he was uncooperative and refused to provide the password for his phone.

‘We intend to examine the Telegram application to uncover his drug network and take legal action against his suppliers and customers’.

Thai police have reported that Garcia has been charged with possession of drugs with intent to supply.

Selling or having class-A substances like LSD and ecstasy, known as category I drugs in Thailand, for ‘disposal or possession for disposal’ can lead to the death penalty for those convicted, Thai law states.

Just possessing category I drugs can wind someone behind bars for up to 15 years and be fined 300,000 Thai baht (about £6,500).

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