An Australian Hells Angel bikie and his wife have been sentenced to death in Thailand for attempting to smuggle drugs into the country.
34-year-old Luke Joshua Cook and 40-year-old Kanyarat Wechapitak were arrested at the Bangkok International Airport in December, 2017, after arriving off a flight from Australia, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The publication further reported the Thai court sentenced the pair to death after they attempted to smuggle the drugs with an estimated street value of $300million.
However, the pairs sentences are expected to be changed to a life sentence.
Thai authorities alleged Cook was given $15 million by Hells Angels boss Wayne Schneider to buy and store the drugs in 2015 for later shipment to Australia.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson declined to comment specifically on Cook, but said the Australian government was providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Cook is accused of coordinating the movement of the drugs from China to Thailand on board a yacht.
Police claimed that Cook and his wife ran a boat rental business, Global Marine Solutions, and had ties with Sydney-based Hells Angels’ member and drugs identity Wayne Schneider, who was murdered in Thailand in November 2015.
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