CHIANG RAI – Police, soldiers, and border patrol officers at the Kiw Thap Yang checkpoint in Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai, arrested a man and a woman from Sukhothai after finding 51 kilograms of crystal meth (ya ice) hidden inside the steel chassis under a pickup truck.
The pair tried to slip through the checkpoint in the middle of the night, but officers noticed suspicious behaviour and carried out a detailed search that led to the discovery.
On Friday, police officers from Mae Chan Police Station in Chiang Rai, together with soldiers from the 31st Ranger Task Force under the Pha Muang Force and officers from Border Patrol Police Company 327, detained Mr Surasak, aged 30, from Thung Saliam district, Sukhothai, and Ms Manatchanok, aged 34, from Si Satchanalai district, Sukhothai, to face legal action.
Late on the night of Thursday, Pol Col Kiattisak Jitprasarn, superintendent of Mae Chan Police Station, ordered police, rangers, and border patrol officers to conduct checks at the Kiw Thap Yang checkpoint on Phahonyothin Road in Mae Chan subdistrict, Mae Chan district, which links to Mueang Chiang Rai district.
Shortly after, officers stopped a white Nissan Navara pickup truck with Sukhothai registration plates, driving from Mae Chan towards Mueang Chiang Rai and further into the country. The driver appeared nervous, so officers called the vehicle in for inspection.
Inside the cabin, they found Mr Surasak driving, with Ms Manatchanok as a passenger. A search of the interior and luggage showed nothing illegal, but both showed signs of unusual behaviour.
Officers then moved the pickup to an inspection bay and checked underneath. They spotted some items stuffed inside the steel support beam under the truck bed. The objects were tea packets fixed to the chassis.
When opened, the packets were found to contain a type 1 narcotic (crystal methamphetamine). In total, there were 51 packets, each weighing about 1 kilogram, with an overall weight of around 54 kilograms of ice.
Both suspects were arrested at the scene. Officers seized the vehicle and all drugs, then sent the case to investigators at Mae Chan Police Station for legal proceedings and further investigation.
On the same day (Friday, December 5), soldiers from Phadam Base under the Chaiyanupap Task Force of the Pha Muang Force, together with officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) Division 3, NSB Division 2, NBYAS 35, and officers from Chai Prakan Police Station, seized 1,008,000 methamphetamine pills as evidence.
This action followed an order from the Pha Muang Force for military units to work closely with government agencies and the private sector to block drug smuggling along the border.
During the night of 4 December, the Chaiyanupap Task Force assigned soldiers from Phadam Base, along with the mentioned agencies, to set up a checkpoint and roadblock on a local road near Huai Pu Ja village (Ban Mai Pattana), Village 6, Mae Thalop subdistrict, Chai Prakan district. The aim was to stop drug shipments from the border area and prevent other illegal activities.
Later, officers noticed a suspicious vehicle. As it approached the checkpoint and was only a short distance away, the driver suddenly turned the vehicle around and headed back the way it had come. Officers considered this highly suspicious and moved in to follow. Not far from the checkpoint, they saw that bags had been thrown from the vehicle onto the roadside.
There were six black plastic bags, and the vehicle then sped off into the darkness. Officers collected the bags and opened them. Inside, they found multi-coloured woven sacks, each filled with methamphetamine tablets. The total count was 1,008,000 pills.
Col Dechathorn Saiyut, deputy commander of the Chaiyanupap Task Force, along with other relevant officials, later examined the seized drugs. The evidence was then handed over to investigators at Chai Prakan Police Station for legal action and further enquiries.
