Thai police detain 124 people in 'drug party' bust
31 of the 124 people arrested were in possession of illegal narcotics
BANGKOK: Police in Thailand detained more than 120 people found in their underwear at a drug-fuelled party in Bangkok, officers told AFP Monday.
Police Colonel Pansa Amarapitak told AFP that they were tipped off about a "drug party" in a room at a hotel in central Bangkok early on Sunday morning.
Police photos showed a room full of mostly male suspects in handcuffs and wearing nothing but underpants as officers searched them for drugs.
They found 31 of the 124 people arrested were in possession of illegal narcotics such as crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine, Pansa said.
He added that all of them tested for the substances and 66 were found with traces in their system.
He said all except two were men, and around five were foreigners.
Police are seeking the courts' permission to hold those suspected of drug possession for questioning beyond the 48-hour window, Pansa told AFP Monday.
The rest have been released, Pansa told AFP.
Thailand is a major hub for illegal drug trafficking in Southeast Asia, and police raids and seizures of hard narcotics like heroin and methamphetamine are common.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said a record 190 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year.
Thailand has tough anti-drugs laws.
Possession of category one drugs, which include ecstasy and methamphetamine, can bring jail sentences of up to 10 years.