BANGKOK, Thailand – Rasoul Boroumand, a 34-year-old Iranian, was detained at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok for allegedly smuggling crystal methamphetamine, aka 'ice', worth an estimated Bt14 million ($466,000), customs officials said Thursday (July 12), according to local media.

Boroumand, who flew from Tehran to Dubai before arriving in Bangkok, was caught Wednesday night with nearly 4kg of ice after behaving suspiciously at the terminal.

He was charged with possessing and smuggling illicit drugs without permission and was handed over to the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, MCOT Online reported.

Boroumand had been living in Thailand for three years and opened a coffee shop in Bangkok, according to The Bangkok Post. He said he was hired by a "Thai Buddhist" to smuggle drugs from Iran, and was paid Bt300,000 ($9,500) per trip.

Customs Department director general Somchai Poolsavasdi told The Post that Boroumand had travelled in and out of Thailand eight times.