CHIANG MAI – The Region 5 Police Commissioner, together with the Third Army Region, ONCB, and local authorities, announced two major drug busts. Officers seized 4.8 million meth pills and 171 bars of heroin, weighing 66 kilograms.
The operation stresses ongoing action to block cross-border smuggling and keep drugs from moving deeper into the country.
On Saturday, at the Region 5 Provincial Police Investigation Division in Mueang Chiang Mai, Pol Lt Gen Kritthaphon Yisakhon led a news briefing with representatives from the Third Army Region, ONCB Region 5, and administrative agencies.
Two key cases were highlighted, with a combined haul of 4,800,000 meth pills and 171 heroin bars, 66 kilograms in total.
The first case took place on 23 Oct 68. Chiang Saen Police in Chiang Rai received intelligence on a shipment moving from Myanmar into Chiang Saen. Units were deployed to intercept.
At about 19.10 hrs, a grey Nissan pickup, registered in Chiang Rai, was spotted on the Mae Sai to Chiang Saen road. The truck bed was fully loaded and covered with a black tarpaulin. Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped through the checkpoint.
He later abandoned the truck and jumped into the Mekong River, escaping arrest. A search uncovered 20 sacks of methamphetamine, about 4.8 million pills. The evidence was seized and handed to Chiang Saen investigators. Police are now tracing others linked to the group.
The second case involved the Chiang Kham Police in Phayao. Intelligence pointed to a heroin run from the northern border to Bangkok. A controlled operation was planned.
On 23 Oct 68, officers moved into Ban Sob Bong, Phu Sang district, at a pre-arranged meeting point with an informant. Two suspects arrived and delivered suspicious sacks in a rubber plantation.
Checks found compressed heroin in rectangular bars, 171 in total, weighing 66 kilograms. The drugs were seized, and follow-up investigations are underway to track the wider network.
According to the Region 5 Police, these arrests form part of a sustained border control effort in the North, the main corridor for trafficking from neighbouring countries into Thailand. Police, the military, and ONCB continue joint operations.
From 1 to 24 Oct 68, Region 5 recorded 1,373 drug cases, including 20 major cases. Seizures included 23 million meth pills, 270 kilograms of crystal meth, 66 kilograms of heroin, and 74 kilograms of ketamine. The figures reflect intensified enforcement across the region.
