Thai police find 4.3kg of meth in suitcase of American woman flying to S'pore

Thai police managed to intercept what is believed to be a massive 4.3-kilogram load of methamphetamines almost smuggled from Phuket, Thailand into Singapore and South Korea on Feb. 23, 2025.

They did so thanks to a tip-off they received about a passenger attempting to smuggle drugs through the Phuket airport.

To track the passenger down, they reviewed a list of passengers aboard Scoot Airlines' TR653 flight from Phuket to Singapore.

On that list was one Melba Sharp, a 65-year-old American woman, who was flagged as a high-risk individual for drug trafficking by the police.

Thaiger reported that the woman was making a stop in Singapore and that her final destination was to be South Korea.

Sharp, a resident of California, was checking in for her Scoot flight to Singapore on the night of Feb. 23 (Thailand time) at Phuket Airport, when police surprised her and searched her suitcase.

Meth, wrapped in paper and plastic

Inside Sharp's suitcase, police found four packages, wrapped in paper and plastic, and further hidden in four packaged bed sheets.

The packages apparently seemed heavier than they should have been, leading the police to unwrap them.

They found 4.3 kilograms of a white crystalline substance that was later confirmed to be methamphetamine, The Bangkok Post reported.

She was subsequently held at Sakhu police station in Thalang district on suspicion of attempting to smuggle methamphetamine out of the country.

Top photo from Canva, Phuket International Airport Website & FRANK website.