CHIANG MAI – Pha Muang Task Force soldiers on patrol, acting on intelligence, encountered a drug caravan using a natural crossing at first light Sunday. Soldiers signalled for a search, and the group opened fire without warning. A brief but intense firefight followed. Troops later seized three sacks of methamphetamine.
Col. Kitti Najai, commander of the Third Army Area ranger control unit, under the Pha Muang Task Force, told reporters that on November 10th, rangers under the Third Army Area’s Pha Muang Task Force received a tip that a drug syndicate planned to run narcotics across the border into Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai. Capt. Ritthichai Sunthorn, commander of Company 3201, led a patrol to block the route.
At about 6.00 a.m., the team reached a natural trail near Ban Namauoen, Moo 14, Mae Ai subdistrict. They spotted 5 to 8 suspects carrying modified backpacks moving into the security zone. Officers identified themselves and requested a search.
The suspects fired first with unidentified guns. The exchange lasted roughly five minutes. All Thai personnel were safe. Darkness and poor visibility made it difficult to clear the site, so the team secured the area and waited for support.
Col. Kitti Najai said he arrived with a second interception element from NBP.YS.35, intelligence officers from the Pha Muang Task Force, Mae Ai District officials, Mae Ai Police Station, and Border Patrol Police Company 334 to conduct a sweep.
No bodies were found. Authorities believe the traffickers, familiar with the terrain, fled with injuries. On-site, officers recovered:
- Two 7.62 mm casings
- Two 9 mm pistol casings
- Three backpacks containing an estimated 300,000 meth pills
Breakdown of the haul: Pack 1 marked Y1, about 100,000 pills; Pack 2 marked Y1, about 100,000 pills; Pack 3 marked 999, about 100,000 pills. The evidence will be handed to investigators at Mae Ai Police Station for legal proceedings.
According to the Pha Muang Task Force, from 1 Oct 2025 to now, security forces in the upper North have executed 60 interdiction operations.
They arrested 69 suspects and seized 36,953,549 meth pills, 1.2 kilograms of heroin, 845 kilograms of crystal meth, and 1.54 kilograms of opium. There have been nine armed clashes with smuggling groups, with eight traffickers killed. If the seized drugs had reached Bangkok, the street value would have been about 6,389.3 million baht (6,389,318,330 baht).
The Pha Muang Task Force, also called the Pha Muang Force or Taskforce Pha Muang, is an elite Royal Thai Army unit focused on border security, anti-narcotics work, and counter-trafficking along Thailand’s northern frontier with Myanmar and Laos.
Named for Pha Muang, a famed 13th-century warrior king of the Sukhothai era, the unit operates mainly in the Golden Triangle region. This area is a long-time centre for drug production and smuggling, including methamphetamine, heroin, and opium.
Formed around 2000, the task force falls under the 3rd Army Area. It is often described as Thailand’s front line against cross-border organised crime. The unit fields specialist teams, such as the Chaiyanuparp Special Unit, for rapid response and reconnaissance. It works with Thai police, rangers, and international partners, although its remote missions can make oversight and accountability more difficult.
