CHIANG RAI – Border patrol police report drug traffickers sped through a checkpoint in a pickup loaded with almost 3 million methamphetamine pills and firing at officers, while another group exchanged gunfire with rangers along the Mae Fa Luang border.
On Wednesday, soldiers from Task Force Thap Chao Tak, under the Pha Muang Task Force, together with officers from Border Patrol Police Company 327, Border Patrol Police Subdivision 32, seized a total of 2,800,000 methamphetamine pills.
The seizure followed a joint night-time operation on Tuesday. Narcotics Suppression Officers had set up a checkpoint to prevent and intercept drug offences under the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564. The checkpoint was on a road near Ban Laowang, an outlying village of Ban Mae Mo, Village 7, Thoet Thai Sub-district, Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai Province, close to the Thai-Myanmar border.
While on duty, the team spotted a suspicious pickup truck, a white Mitsubishi Triton with Chiang Mai registration plates, driving down from the mountains and heading straight towards the checkpoint.
Officers signalled for the driver to stop for inspection. As the vehicle came close to the checkpoint, the driver lowered the window, pointed a handgun out of the vehicle, and opened fire at the officers before speeding through the checkpoint at high speed. None of the bullets hit the officers, so all personnel were safe and immediately set off in pursuit.
After a short chase, officers found that the pickup had been abandoned at the side of the escape route. The driver had left the vehicle and used his knowledge of the area to flee into the forest. The team then secured the area and inspected the rear bed and cabin of the truck.
They found 14 multi-coloured polypropylene sacks loaded in the vehicle. Inside each sack was a large quantity of Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine), around 200,000 pills per sack, with a total of about 2,800,000 pills. Officers seized the drugs as evidence and continued operations to track down the fleeing suspect.
Meth Sized in Mae Fa Luang District
In a second incident, paramilitary rangers under the Pha Muang Task Force carried out a border patrol along the Thai‑Myanmar frontier in Mae Salong Nai subdistrict, Mae Fa Luang district, Chiang Rai province.
While patrolling near a natural crossing route close to Pong Hai village, Moo 21, in Mae Salong Nai, the team spotted a group of about four to five men. They were carrying large modified rucksacks made from fertiliser sacks and were walking through the forest into Thai territory.
The rangers moved in and identified themselves, then tried to search the group. The men immediately opened fire with guns of unknown type and calibre, which led to a gunfight that lasted around five minutes.
When the shooting stopped, all officers were safe and unhurt. The team then secured the area and held their positions. At around 6.00 am on 3 December, they moved in to inspect the scene of the clash in detail.
Along the forest path, they found two abandoned rucksacks made from adapted sacks. Inside were quantities of a Type 1 narcotic (methamphetamine), with each bag holding about 150,000 pills, giving a total of roughly 300,000 pills.
The trafficking group was nowhere to be found, and officers believe they dumped the drugs during the firefight and escaped back into the forest. Officers seized all the drugs as evidence and are now working to trace and arrest the members of the smuggling network behind this shipment.
