Nepal’s former prince held on drug charges in Thailand

Former Nepalese crown prince Paras Shah, known for his flamboyant lifestyle, has been arrested by Thai police on drugs charges for a second time in two years and could be jailed for up to five years.

Shah, who is in Thailand on a tourist visa, was arrested from a hotel in Bangkok on 10 July with 12 grams of marijuana, police said on Wednesday. He faces a jail term of up to five years and/or 50,000 baht (about Rs 1 lakh) fine for possession of the contraband. It is not the first time for the 43-year-old former prince to be in trouble in Thailand.

In October 2012, Shah was arrested for possession of three grams of marijuana in the resort island of Phuket. He was in trouble again with the police after he smashed property at an upscale hotel here the same year. In 2010, he was arrested in Nepal for firing into the air after an argument at a resort. Authorities gave him a warning, but later dropped the investigation. In both cases he was detained and then released.

In February 2013, Shah was admitted to Samitivej Hospital here after he suffered a heart attack.

Shah became heir to the throne in 2001 after his cousin crown prince Dipendra killed nine members of his family including the king and queen before killing himself. He was the only son of deposed King Gyanendra. When Nepal turned into a republic in 2008, Shah moved to Singapore and later to Bangkok.