A YORK man could face the death penalty after being accused of drug smuggling in Thailand.

Robert Duncan Bailey could be executed by firing squad if convicted of serious drugs charges.

Mr Bailey, who Thai police say also uses the name of Robert Duncan Neilson, was arrested by police in a Bangkok hotel on Wednesday, and has been accused of possessing six bags of heroin, containing more than 600g of the Class A drug.

He is also charged with being in possession of 80 bottles of Ketamine, an anaesthetic used to produce hallucinogenic feelings, and 500g of cannabis.

Mr Bailey's arrest reportedly came after a year-long police operation, when he returned to Thailand from a trip to the UK.

Drugs officers found a stash of illegal substances at his Thai girlfriend's home in the resort of Pattaya, 120 miles east of Bangkok, last year. Thai police said they were packed and ready to be sent to the UK for sale.

Lieutenant Colonel Pirom Piyakorn said all the drugs had been found packed up and ready to be sent to Bailey in England.

He said Bailey's girlfriend ,Petcheri Yutasinservi, aged 25, co-operated with police, saying that Bailey frequently sent packages to himself.

"This is a major case of drugs trafficking."

When Bailey recently returned to Bangkok and telephoned his Thai girlfriend police were notified and they rushed to his hotel on Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road.

The automatic punishment for smuggling drugs into Thailand is the death penalty.

However, sentences for foreign nationals can be commuted to life imprisonment spent in notoriously harsh jail conditions.

Updated: 14:17 Thursday, October 16, 2003