Chiang Rai News
Army Rangers Clash with Armed Drug Runners in Mae Chan, Chiang Rai
.
.
CHIANG RAI – Drug suppression authorities and Army rangers intercepted and clashed with armed drug runners near the Thai – Myanmar border in Mae Chan district of Chiang Rai, seizing 80,000 meths pills in a backpack dropped behind by the smugglers.
Acting on tip-off that a group of drug smugglers would use the mountain route along the border in Mae Chan to transport a large cache of drugs into Thailand, the commander of the Pamuang Field Force ordered rangers to patrol the possible routes to intercept the drug smugglers.
.
Army Rangers spotted a group of 5-7 smugglers on the mountain side carrying backpacks and firearms, they ordered the men to stop but they immediately open fire on the authorities and then fled under cover of darkness.
After a search at the area the Army Ranger recovered a backpack dropped by the smugglers containing approximately 80,000 methamphetamine tablets.
In June of this year Mae Chan district police and border patrol officers arrested 41 year-old Charoen Chumchan  trying to smuggle over a million methamphetamine pills into the country through Mae Chan district.
Mae Chan district police and border patrol officers stopped Mr. Chumchan for a search and found five fertiliser sacks inside the pickup.
The sacks contained 1,128,000 speed pills wrapped in black plastic
.