Thailand targets narco millions hidden in gold, steel and crypto

The downfall of a meth syndicate laundering tens of millions of dollars of drug money through Thai gold shops, oil, and construction firms has cast rare light on the staggering scale of Asia's narco profits—and the ruses used to hide them. Thailand is Southeast Asia's meth "superhighway", with drugs from remote Myanmar labs pouring through the border destined for the local market or overseas as far as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Prices have dropped as the drug labs ramp up production of yaba—the tiny caffeinated pink or green pills guzzled by Southeast Asian truck drivers to clubbers—and the more expensive...