California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Thai Official Charged With Smuggling Pot

A member of Thailand’s Parliament was charged with smuggling 45 tons of marijuana into the United States over a 14-year period in a 1991 indictment unsealed Tuesday. U.S. authorities have already seized a $1-million Beverly Hills home and a 1987 Mercedes-Benz owned by Thanong Siriprechapong. A federal judge’s forfeiture order last May accepted the government’s claim that the property had been bought with drug money. Thanong, a member of the opposition Chart Thai party, was secretly indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco in November, 1991, on charges of smuggling, conspiracy and operating a continuing criminal enterprise from 1973 to 1987. Each charge is punishable by 10 years to life in prison and a $4-million fine. The chief prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Atty. Andrew Scoble, said at least 10 major drug defendants have been convicted of charges related to Thanong’s activities.