A life-size statue of Optimus Prime and other Transformers characters were packed with massive amounts of ketamine, Thai police say. Police in Bangkok, Thailand intercepted about 705 pounds of ketamine hidden inside Transformers statues, marking one of the country’s biggest busts in recent years. The estimated market value is as high as NT$600 million (about $20 million USD).

Channel News Asia (CNA) first reported that the ketamine was found on April 25. A woman allegedly tried to smuggle the ketamine inside life-size statues of the Transformers characters Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Greenlight and others. The statues were enroute to a movie exhibition in Taiwan. Transformers is the popular movie series directed by Michael Bay, based on the toy franchise. Drug traffickers typically seek out the least likely places to hide drugs in order to evade police, sometimes getting creative such as in the case of the Thailand bust.

Fox News reports that Thai police in Bangkok seized 320 kilograms (705 pounds) of ketamine in a freight warehouse. The suspect allegedly packed 320 kilograms of ketamine into 320 packages containing one kilo each. The ketamine was then allegedly concealed with an outer package filled with Tieguanyin tea to deter police, and stuffed into 10 bases of the model robots. Each base was stuffed with 32 packs of ketamine.

An unidentified woman allegedly paid around $4,800 USD to the shipping company to help her transport the statues. Authorities said she had received instructions from another unidentified woman in Laos who would receive the shipment of drugs. 

Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), held a press conference today to explain the case.

“Currently, we are facing a drug trafficking problem with transnational crime networks hidden in all regions, using Thailand as a base to smuggle drugs to third countries continuously through international shipments via air or sea,” Police Lt. Gen. Phanurat Lhakbun said.

Police in Australia found around 220 pounds of methamphetamine that an unidentified woman tried to smuggle inside a food processing machine on March 12. With this in mind, they kept an eye on her activities in the following weeks, which led to the discovery of an even bigger stash of drugs.

“The ONCB has cooperation projects with the Airport Interdiction Task Force to suppress and intercept drugs in airports and the Seaport Interdiction Task Force for intercepting drug imports to the inner part of the country and exports to third countries,” Phanurat said. 

Thai police cooperated with the Bureau of Investigation and held a meeting in Bangkok on April 24 and found the ketamine the next day.

According to Thai police, the woman allegedly transferred the drugs via Laos and the drugs originated from Cambodia. Thai police are still determining its original source. The Bureau of Investigation is also continuing to investigate alleged Taiwanese accomplices.

Thai police and the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice cooperated to intercept a batch of ketamine destined for Taiwan and held a press conference on April 26.

Drugs in Thailand

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Thailand, typically  have harsh drug laws. Thailand’s strict laws include the use of the death penalty. However in recent years, Thailand experimented with cannabis reform. Thailand’s lenient approach to cannabis is currently being revised as the country’s prime minister is seeking to re-criminalize the plant.

In 2018, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian nation to legalize cannabis for medical use. Two years later, the Thai cabinet approved amendments to the country’s drug laws to allow for the production and sale of medical marijuana, including cannabis flower. 

Thailand removed cannabis from the nation’s list of banned drugs on June 9, 2022, making the country the first Asian nation to decriminalize pot. Government officials warned, however, that the move does not legalize cannabis for recreational purposes.

Under Thailand’s new regulations, marijuana and hemp cultivation and commerce are no longer illegal. Restaurants and cafes will be permitted to sell foods and beverages infused with cannabis, but only if they contain no more than 0.2% THC. Products with higher concentrations of THC are permitted for medicinal purposes.

Pills containing meth, followed by crystal meth, are the most popular drugs in Thailand. The country’s most popular pill, Yaba, is a combination of caffeine and methamphetamine, mainly manufactured in Burma. Thai police have intercepted more than four tons of crystal meth, two tons of ketamine, and over 580 pounds of heroin in total busts in recent months. 

In Thailand, ketamine is considered a Category II drug—drugs that are illegal for personal use. This is the same category as drugs such as codeine. In the U.S. ketamine is approved for medical use and classified as a Schedule III drug. In the U.S. ketamine is used for psychedelic-assisted therapy.

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Australian border authorities confiscated nearly 900 kilos of ketamine last year, setting a new national record for seizures of the psychedelic drug. The spike in seizures of ketamine is concerning to Australian officials, who worry that organized crime groups are now focusing on illicit sales of the powerful drug.

The 882 kilograms of ketamine seized last year is more than double the 415 kilos seized in 2022, according to a report from 9 News. Officials say that the majority of the ketamine seized by the Australian Border Force (ABF) was imported into the country by sea. 

Testing of wastewater in Australia has revealed a new high for levels of ketamine, confirming that the psychedelic drug has become increasingly popular with the nation’s residents. Ketamine use reached a record high in April 2023, according to the latest ACIC National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report.

Authorities discovered 84 kilos of ketamine hidden inside the panels of two brand-new delivery vans on a ship bound for Sydney last summer. After receiving a tip about the illicit shipment, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) boarded the ship in Melbourne to inspect the cargo. Officials found a total of 79 bags of ketamine hidden in the vans. After seizing the illegal shipment, they replaced the bags with dummy packets before the vessel continued its route to Sydney. Police then apprehended the recipients of the dummy bags outside Sydney and arrested three men who were charged with importing a commercial quantity of controlled drugs.

“These criminal groups may think they’re being clever in the way they try to bring in these harmful substances, but they should know that the ABF is ready to respond,” ABF Assistant Commissioner James Watson said in a statement to Australian media.

Largest Ketamine Bust Ever Made Last Year

AFP agents made the largest ketamine bust in Australian history in July 2023 when they found 80 kilos of the drug in an ocean-going cement shipment from Spain. The bust was made after a tip from Spanish authorities and led to the discovery of 80 kilos of ketamine that had been buried at a residence. Another 14 kilos of the drug was found at a nearby storage facility and three men were arrested and face charges in the record bust.

The largest amounts of ketamine were confiscated from ocean-going shipments of the drug. Additionally, officials seized smaller quantities of the drug from travelers to the country. According to media reports, ABF agents routinely find smaller amounts of ketamine in passenger luggage and arrest travelers suspected of importing the drugs.

In October 2023, a Taiwanese national was arrested at Brisbane International Airport after border officials discovered 250 grams of ketamine in his luggage. Last week, an 18-year-old UK national was arrested when he arrived in Sydney and border officials discovered 20 kilos of ketamine in his luggage. The man was charged with importing commercial quantities of a controlled drug and has been denied bail in the case.

Although ketamine busts in Australia rose to record levels last year, officials note that seizures of the psychedelic are much lower than other drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine, according to AFP intelligence. As ketamine busts increase, officials are warning Australians about the risks associated with taking the drug.

“Ketamine is a dangerous and illicit sedative. Its dissociative effects block sensory brain signals and can cause memory loss, feelings of being detached from one’s body and prevent their ability to perceive danger,” AFP Detective-Superintendent Anthony Hall said in a statement cited by The Maritime Executive. “Unfortunately, in Australia, an average of 40 people are admitted to hospitals every week as a result of experiencing the harm caused by drug use.”

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Though the Summer of 2023 has been flush with great musical events, from jam band farewells to EDM gatherings, there has also been the unfortunate reality of drug-related police activity resulting in numerous arrests and large amounts of party favors confiscated. 

Much of this article will be centered around one particular locale where some of the drug busts—along with one tragic mass shooting—took place: the idyllic Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County, Washington, a legendary venue situated on the banks of the Columbia River in the eastern part of the state. 

The Gorge was the site of the most recent music event spoiled by drug arrests: the Bass Canyon Music Festival, a celebration of EDM (electronic dance music), which took place over the weekend of August 18-20. The Grant Co Sheriff’s Department arrested 13 people while confiscating $20,000 worth of goodies, including cocaine, LSD and ketamine, along with cannabis. Even though weed has been legal in Washington for over a decade, it’s still against the law to sell it without a license.    

The Grant Co Sheriff’s Dept. conducted 14 different investigations in total, their heightened response prompted by an earlier shooting on the same concert grounds in June—more on that story to follow. 

In their official statement to the media, the Sheriff’s Dept. seemed to be rationalizing their overzealous operation, by stating that the concert grounds can hold up to 25,000 people, the same population as nearby small towns.  Yet, modern music festivals have always been about those sorts of cramped conditions, and the vast majority go off smoothly without any overbearing police presence being necessary. 

Similar drug raids were also conducted on the East Coast, including at the Elements Festival in Long Pond, situated in Pennsylvania’s Monroe County. A self-described “car camping” electronic music festival that occurred over the weekend of August 11-14, 11 people in all were arrested, charged with selling various substances to festival attendees.  

According to reports, the increased police scrutiny this year was prompted by overdoses at the Elements Fest the previous year, in 2022. Yet once again, the Sheriff’s Dept’s claims raise the issue that the priority should be ensuring people are offered proper medical services, along with taking safe substances in the first place. Because no matter how big or small of a law enforcement presence there actually is, people are going to take drugs at festivals and concerts, because most of the dealers don’t get caught.

It was an actual shooting—not only overdoses—at the Beyond Wonderland EDM Festival held at the Gorge on Saturday, June 17 that made national headlines. Two people were horrifically shot to death, with two others wounded—including the gunman’s own girlfriend, causing permanent injuries to her. The festival’s Sunday schedule was promptly canceled in wake of the mass shooting.  

It’s worth noting that the two murder victims were a same-sex female couple engaged to be married; they were walking together when Kelly shot them to death. A male who tried to help the victims, as well as the suspect’s aforementioned girlfriend, were wounded by gunfire. The accused gunman, 26-year old James Kelly, who was captured on the festival grounds, is an active-duty soldier stationed in Washington state. It has yet to be revealed whether or not the shootings were politically motivated. Kelly has claimed it was a bad “mushroom trip” that caused him to shoot down his fellow concertgoers, which the corporate media were quick to exploit in their coverage of the shooting. As told to police, during one of the concert performances, a tripping Kelly was filled with thoughts of the world coming to an end, and so he rushed back to his tent, where his gun was waiting to be fired indiscriminately.

The Wonderland incident provided all the justification required for an intricately coordinated multi-agency operation to conduct over-the-top drug activity during the popular jam band Dead and Company’s farewell tour stop to the Gorge on July 7 and 8. 

Mutually involved in the Dead & Co. busts were the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department Street Crimes Unit, as well as Homeland Security Investigations, meaning the US government was involved as well.  

Various substances with a combined estimated street value of over $200,000 were seized, including over 28,000 grams of weed, dabs and edibles, as well as coke, shrooms, molly and acid. In all, 13 people were arrested on drug felony charges.

Posting on their Facebook page July 12, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office issued an official statement regarding the bust, making no apologies for the arrests and seizures:

“The Gorge Amphitheater encourages law enforcement pro-activity at their concerts which are known to have an illegal drug culture based on the number of overdoses and incidents experienced over the years.”  The statement also referenced the recent EDM festival shooting. 

However, the Sheriff’s Dept failed to address the primary problem of the Wonderland incident, which wasn’t the mushrooms, but the firearm that was illegally brought onto the concert grounds, which as stated in the venue’s official rules, is prohibited. While it’s true that psychedelic mushrooms were prohibited too, that substance cannot be used as a weapon to impulsively kill innocent people. Law enforcement did not provide a statement regarding an apparent plan in place to prevent future gun violence at the Gorge, solely focusing on the drugs.

The arrests and seizures at the Gorge were not the first time during the two-month Dead & Co. summer tour that big busts at one of their gigs made the news. When the band performed at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (aka SPAC), located in upstate New York, on June 17 and 18, local law enforcement was in full force. So full in fact, that the New York State Park Police reported those two D&C shows were among the busiest they’ve ever experienced in terms of drug busts, as well as some actual, violent crime they had to deal with at the venue. The Park Police seized LSD, cocaine, mushrooms, ketamine, meth, weighing equipment and even black-market “packaging”.  Additionally, 54 tanks of nitrous oxide were seized, along with arresting over 30 individuals, as well as confiscating $33,000 in cold hard cash from one luckless drug dealer. 

Concerts by Phish, the biggest jam band outside of Dead & Co., also experienced unwanted—and perhaps unwarranted—treatment by law enforcement. As reported by Phish fans on Reddit, accompanied by photos that provided visual confirmation of the claim, a circulating memo revealed that a federal/local law enforcement joint endeavor was targeting a pair of Phish shows to be held in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania in late July.   

In a memo shared far and wide on the web, the document carried the heading of “Washington County Sheriff’s Office” with an added note “Internal Dissemination Only.” The subject read: “Joint County Task Enforcement Operation ‘Phish in a Barrel’” with the next line indicating the operation was to be conducted at “Star Lake Amphitheatre July 21-22, 2023”, a concert venue outside of Pittsburgh. 

The memo listed the “chain of command” of the various agencies purported to be involved with this operation in hierarchical order, designated by phonetics: “Ops Alpha” was Dept. of Homeland Security, “Ops Bravo” was Washington Co Sheriff’s and “Ops Charlie” was the notorious Drug Enforcement Administration, just to throw an extra scare into any who believed this printed chicanery.  

The memo designated Highway 22 as the “primary checkpoint”, with Highway 18 as the “secondary” checkpoint in which anti-drug units with colorful nicknames like “Team Wolverine” and “Team Badger” would crack down on any would-be partying Phish fans. Perhaps using a code name based on an actual animal-based Phish song such as “Ocelot” or “Possum” might’ve been too obvious. 

Despite the memo seeming quite intentionally comical in hindsight, this document was strongly believed by the Phish and wider jam band communities for a period of time leading up to those concerts. 

So much so that Washington Co Sheriff Tony Andronas felt obligated to post on his Facebook page that “Phish in a Barrel” was indeed a hoax, and in fact, a similar prank had been played on the Virginia State Police in 2018. In that case, as with this most recent one, none of the perpetrators were identified.

Despite the hoax, it turns out the Washington County Sheriff’s Department still made their presence felt in the most unwelcome way at those Phish shows, as officers were actually on the Star Lake “lawn” (the general admission area behind the seats), as visually documented on social media. This time it was no hoax/prank, as photos posted on Reddit revealed the cops were disturbing and disrupting concertgoers’ good times, writing tickets for those merely smoking weed on the lawn. 

With paranoia over the “Phish in a Barrel” hoax being so widespread, in conjunction with all of the excessive actual busts from coast-to-coast, this demonstrates that law enforcement continues to prioritize drug enforcement over public safety at festivals and concerts—so let the attendee beware.

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