Chiang Rai – A tense, all-night pursuit unfolded in Chiang Rai after a drug-smuggling group sped through a military checkpoint. They later abandoned their vehicle and drugs in a banana plantation.
According to a soldier, the Pha Muang Task Force received a tip-off about a drug shipment expected to move from the Thai-Myanmar border near Therdthai in Mae Fah Luang district, so officers quickly set up a checkpoint near Thamcharik village in Mae Chan.
Late on Tuesday, as midnight approached, a suspicious vehicle approached the checkpoint.
Soldiers signalled for the vehicle to stop, but the driver sped off, leading police and soldiers to give chase. During the chase that followed, one of the police vehicles skidded off the road. Thankfully, everyone was safe, though the police vehicle was damaged and couldn’t continue the pursuit.
Other team members kept searching and went down a trail that led down a dirt track lined with cornfields and rubber trees, ending in a thick patch of banana trees. There, they found a silver Mitsubishi parked with no one inside.
Sweeping the area, officers spotted 10 sacks about 100 metres away, hidden beneath banana leaves. Inside the sacks, they found about 2.5 million meth pills. Police from Mae Chan station were called in to help collect the evidence and start tracking down the owner of the truck.
The suspects managed to get away, but authorities are still investigating and working to make arrests.
Three Caught with 300,000 Meth Pills
Police in Phitsanulok arrested three people from Phang Nga – one woman and two men – after finding 300,000 methamphetamine pills on a tour bus travelling from Chiang Mai to Nakhon Ratchasima. Each claimed they expected to be paid 100,000 baht for the job.
Pol. Lt. Col. Nitikon Kamjun, chief of Nern Kum station, reported that his team, along with provincial investigators, stopped a northern bus at the Santi Banterng checkpoint in Bang Krathum district. The bus was travelling along Highway 11, near the border between Phitsanulok and Phichit provinces.
Staff on the bus had noticed something suspicious about a group of passengers and tipped off the police.
Police officers stopped the bus for inspection, and after checking the luggage, they found a large suitcase with 24 packages inside, containing about 240,000 meth pills. Further checks found another bag with six more packages, adding 60,000 more pills. In total, police found 300,000 meth pills.
The three suspects, all from Phang Nga, admitted to smuggling the meth pills saying they would get 100,000 baht each to deliver the drugs to a network in the northeast, with Korat as their destination. Police found the payment claim suspicious, as the amount seemed high.
All suspects and the drugs were handed over to narcotics suppression investigators for legal action. Police are now working to trace the drug network linked to this case.
