CHIANG RAI – Police in Bokeo Province of Lao PDR intercepted a 22-wheel lorry carrying both meth pills and crystal meth, with a combined weight of more than 3 tonnes. The load included about 19 million meth pills, weighing roughly 1.9 tonnes, and a further 1,648 kilograms of crystal meth.
On Wednesday, the Peace and Order Protection Command in Bokeo, a border province along the Mekong in the Golden Triangle opposite Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai, confirmed the arrest and seizure. The operation followed a tip-off that a major shipment would travel along the Bokeo to Luang Namtha route. Units coordinated quickly and set up an interception.
Officers later spotted a 22-wheel articulated lorry, a yellow tractor with a red trailer, registered in Oudomxay. It left Bokeo and headed towards Ban Pung. The task force alerted Ban Pung traffic police, who stopped the vehicle at 22.00 on 20 October 2025.
The driver, a 30-year-old Hmong man with Lao nationality, was alone in the cab. A search of the trailer uncovered sacks filled with drugs. Police counted 9,500 packages of methamphetamine pills, about 19,000,000 tablets in total, weighing around 1,900 kilograms.
They also found 1,648 packs of crystal meth, roughly 1 kilogram per pack, weighing about 1,648 kilograms. Officers seized one mobile phone. Lao police detained the driver and have begun action to trace and dismantle the wider network.
Traffickers often move east from Bokeo via Oudomxay and Xayaburi towards Vientiane. Authorities have made several seizures on that route. This shipment appears to have been routed north towards Luang Namtha to avoid tighter checks, although investigators believe the final destination was still Vientiane.
Pha Muang Task Force Steps Up Thai-Lao Border Security
The Pha Muang Task Force based in Chiang Rai has stepped up its campaign against cross-border drug networks along the Thai-Lao frontier. Operations focus on Wiang Kaen and Chiang Khong Districts, where the Mekong River meets Laos’ Bokeo Province and acts as a main route for methamphetamine precursors and finished pills from Shan State in Myanmar, moved via cross-river transfer points.
Intelligence teams in high-risk villages, including Ban Thai Charoen and Ban Saew, feed detailed ground reports into the command centre. These sources work alongside infrared UAVs, motion-sensor barriers, and live CCTV covering jungle byways and Mekong ferry sites, creating a layered picture of movement and risk.
During the reporting period, the Pha Muang Task Force sent platoons on 47 interdiction patrols. Province-wide since October 2024, this tempo drove 152 drug seizures, the arrest of 165 suspects, and the removal of an estimated 28.5 million methamphetamine tablets, valued at about 1.2 billion baht, before they could enter domestic supply chains.
One key action came on 17 February 2025 near Ban Thai Charoen. Acting on credible HUMINT from Lahu sources about a Lao mule team, the Pha Muang Task Force mounted a swift night ambush.
Officers seized a six-million-pill load hidden in burlap sacks on a motorized pirogue during a midnight attempt to cross the Mekong. One principal operator was detained, and investigators tied the shipment to the “Pa Lee” Hmong trafficking group.
This action reflects a clear shift toward preemptive river control. Joint teams with the Mekong Riverine Unit now deliver overlapping cover and rapid extraction, denying smugglers the chance to establish footholds along the water.
Non-lethal stops also continued despite monsoon hurdles. On 14 March 2025, officers intercepted a 25-year-old Lao national, Mr Chia of Bokeo, who beached a loaded skiff about 50 metres inland near Chiang Saen. He sustained minor injuries while resisting arrest. The boat carried a further six million pills.
As traffickers turned to vehicles and drone scouting, the Task Force added X-ray screening to pop-up checkpoints on Route 1020 and the Phahonyothin Highway spurs. That upgrade delivered a triple seizure on 20 May 2025 near Mae Sai.
Three outbound loads holding 4.3 million pills were found inside modified SUV compartments made to look like canned fish shipments. Drivers abandoned the vehicles after high-speed chases that ended with U-turns near Ban San Kong School.
The lead driver, Mr Boonpan, aged 49 from Wiang Phang Kham, surrendered without incident and gave debriefs on precursor flows from India using Laos’ limited rail links.
These actions have strained syndicate logistics. Regional seizures are up 172 percent in line with the higher operational tempo. Community outreach, including village briefings and a hotline at 053-211-054 ext. 3103, produced 23 actionable tips, strengthening local support for border security.
Major General Kitdakon Chantra, Director of the Pha Muang Task Force Anti-Narcotics Center, has all units on heightened alert. Contingency plans include cross-border work under the Naypyidaw Declaration to blunt seasonal spikes in heroin and crystal meth routed through Laos. Continued pressure will harden Thailand’s border and protect public health and national security from the Golden Triangle’s narcotics trade.
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