CHIANG MAI – Soldiers with the Pha Muang Task Force have seized 13 backpacks filled with about 1.5 million methamphetamine pills from a large drug-smuggling group moving through the Fang border area in Chiang Mai Province.
Around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, intelligence officers from the Pha Muang Task Force received information that a drug convoy planned to slip a major shipment across the Thai-Myanmar border near Mon Pin Subdistrict, Fang District, Chiang Mai. Units from the 4th Cavalry Company, Chaiyanuphap Task Force, and the 3207th Ranger Company were sent out to patrol and block key routes.
During the operation, troops reached a steep forested area along a mountain footpath near Pang Tong village in Mon Pin. There, they spotted a group of about 15 to 17 men walking along the trail while carrying packs.
Soldiers signaled for the group to stop for inspection. The suspects panicked and opened fire with unknown firearms, apparently trying to clear an escape route. Troops returned fire, and the exchange lasted about five minutes before the area went quiet.
After securing the scene, soldiers found two bodies about 2 kilometers from the clash site, in rugged terrain. Authorities believe the suspects may have been members of the Wa or Lahu ethnic groups. Two firearms were recovered nearby. Along the trail, soldiers also found 13 green backpacks that were dropped during the escape.
Maj. Gen. Sathit Waiyanon, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, assigned Col. Meechai Nilsat, deputy commander, to coordinate with Fang district officials and multiple agencies, including the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), N.Y.S. 35, local intelligence units, Fang Police Station, hospital physicians, prosecutors, narcotics police, and Border Patrol Police.
Inside all 13 backpacks, officers found methamphetamine tablets totaling about 1,500,000 pills. The drugs were seized as evidence and sent to Fang Police Station for legal action and further investigation to track the network behind the shipment.
