CHIANG RAI -Police in Chiang Rai city arrested a 28-year-old man at the second bus terminal, trying to transport 200,000 pills, hidden in his suitcase, at approximately 1:30 pm on Monday, December 15, 2025.
His arrest comes after Pol Maj Gen Manop Senakul, Commander of Chiang Rai Provincial Police, and Pol Col Kriangsak Tongsiri, Superintendent of Mueang Chiang Rai Police Station, ordered police officers to step up patrols and watch for any illegal activity in their area.
During the operation, an informant told police that a shipment of drugs would be smuggled into inner provinces on a private coach service heading to Bangkok, so the team moved in to check.
At the terminal, officers noticed a man who looked suspicious and behaved nervously. They approached and asked to search. The man was identified as Mr Theerapon (surname withheld), 28, residing in Chon Khram, Don Sak subdistrict, Don Sak district, Surat Thani province.
Police then searched a pink suitcase placed in the luggage compartment beside the coach. Inside, they found a large quantity of Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine, or yaba), a total of 200,000 pills, hidden in the case.
Officers arrested the suspect and seized the drugs, then took him to Pol Lt Ratt Thamrarat Ounruan, Deputy Inspector (Investigation), Mueang Chiang Rai Police Station, for further questioning, to track down other members of the network, and to press charges under the law.
Chiang Rai-Hat Yai drug network taken down.
A separate operation by the Chang Suek Songle taskforce of Border Patrol Police Company 437, together with the Tawan team from Hatyai Police Station and Border Patrol Police Region 43, led to the arrest of a major yaba dealer in Hatyai district.
Officers seized more than 400,000 tablets, worth over 12 million baht, that had been sent from Chiang Rai via a private parcel service. The drugs were packed inside canned food. Checks also revealed both sender and receiver had past arrests for drug offences.
On 15 December, in Songkhla province, the joint anti-drug team arrested Mr Phanom Chasathipho, 35, known as “Ball”, a resident of Hatyai district, Songkhla. He was caught with 401,800 yaba pills, with an estimated street value of over 12 million baht. This shipment is considered another large batch and one of the bigger cases recently uncovered in Hatyai. The drugs had been posted through a private courier company.
Officers spent three days tracing this batch of yaba, from its origin to its final destination, to identify and arrest everyone involved.
The case began on 12 December, when the arrest team was contacted by Mae Sai Police Station in Chiang Rai. Mae Sai officers had earlier detained a drug dealer in Phetchabun province with 100,000 meth pills. The investigation found that the drugs came from the Wiang Phakham subdistrict in Chiang Rai.
From questioning, police learned that another two cartons of yaba had already been sent via a private parcel company. The destination was house number 15, Soi 3, Khlong Rian 2 Road, Kho Hong subdistrict, Hatyai district, Songkhla. The named recipient was Mr Phanom Chasathipho, while the parcel labels listed the senders as Ms Phitchaya Maneechot and Mr Thawatchai Kolakka.
Drugs hidden in canned food
The joint team then checked the suspicious parcels and confirmed they contained yaba. The pills had been hidden inside canned food products, such as chilli paste and sweetcorn salad. Officers counted 191 wrapped bundles and another 99 plastic bags of pills.
Police decided to carry out a controlled delivery. They asked the courier company to send the parcels as usual to Mr Phanom. The meeting point was set near a convenience store on Chanwirot Road in Hatyai.
When Mr Phanom arrived on a motorcycle to collect the packages, officers moved in. He attempted to escape by speeding off, but his motorcycle went out of control and crashed. He kept struggling to flee, but officers eventually overpowered him and made the arrest. He suffered minor grazes on his left arm from the fall.
A background check showed that Mr Phanom had already been arrested in drug cases four times. The most recent arrest in Hatyai was on 28 March 2024.
As for Ms Phitchaya Maneechot, listed as one of the senders, records showed she also had a history of drug involvement and had been arrested once in 2020. She frequently travelled between Hatyai and Mae Sai, and previously stayed with Mr Phanom in Hatyai.
Investigators will now widen the probe to track and arrest every member of this drug trafficking network.
Police have charged Mr Phanom with three counts:
- Selling Category 1 narcotics (yaba) by possessing them for sale, in a way that promotes spread among the public, in breach of the law.
- Using Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine) without permission.
- Driving while having a Category 1 narcotic (methamphetamine) in his system, in breach of the law.
During questioning, he has only partly admitted the offences.
