CHIANG MAI – Soldiers from the Chaiyanuphap Task Force under Pha Muang Task Forces intercepted a large drug convoy near the Thai-Myanmar border area in Chiang Dao. After getting fresh intelligence on a major shipment, the team moved quickly and set up patrols to block the route.
Officials said traffickers planned to move a big load through a bypass trail behind Ban Arunothai (Village 10), Mueang Na Subdistrict, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai. The tip came in on February 26, so Unit M.2 of the Chaiyanuphap Task Force deployed troops to the area for interception.
At about 4:45 a.m. on February 27, the patrol team, led by Capt. Attapol Tharasa spotted a group of around 20 to 25 people. They were carrying modified sacks like backpacks and loading them onto a pickup truck parked on a forest road. Another man waited at the vehicle.
When soldiers signaled to search, the group panicked and ran in different directions. Even with low visibility and the suspects knowing the terrain, troops managed to arrest one person, later identified as Mr. Abae. The rest escaped into the forest.
At the scene, authorities found a black Ford Ranger pickup with a Phuket license plate. They also seized 25 woven sacks packed with methamphetamine pills (ya ba), classified as a Category 1 narcotic under Thai law.
As of the latest update, additional forces were moving in to secure the area and expand the investigation, including tracing the network tied to the shipment.
In February 2026, officials in Chiang Mai province, Thailand, reported major drug seizures as border patrols increased along key routes. The biggest case happened on February 14-15 in the Fang district.
During a patrol, troops from the Pha Muang Task Force exchanged gunfire with suspected traffickers. Five armed smugglers died, and officers recovered about 1.4 million methamphetamine pills (yaba). The pills were packed in 14 sacks left behind in a forest near the border.
Authorities said smuggling often rises around festival periods, so they tightened checks at common crossing points. During the same month, teams also made smaller arrests and checkpoint busts for meth pill possession and sales.
At the same time, military, police, and border units kept targeting large shipments linked to the Golden Triangle. In the end, the seizures showed how steady synthetic drug flows remain in northern Thailand, even with tougher enforcement.
Since October 1, 2025, to the present, the Pha Muang Task Force has intercepted narcotics 254 times, arrested 263 suspects, and seized 151,246,686 methamphetamine pills, 1.3 kilograms of heroin, 2,407.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 67 kilograms of opium, and 327.4 kilograms of ketamine. There have been 33 clashes with drug trafficking groups, resulting in 21 deaths among the insurgents.
