CHIANG RAI – Authorities have seized a huge haul of meth pills after a shootout with a drug trafficking group that left two suspects dead. Officers found drugs scattered along the escape route, collecting a total of 21 sacks with about 5 million pills.
The confrontation happened late at night near Pang Mahan village in Mae Fa Luang district. Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force and related units spotted a group moving across the Thai-Myanmar border. When the group was challenged, gunfire erupted. Two members of the group were killed, and officers later found several large sacks abandoned nearby.
The next morning, Maj. Gen Kidakorn Jantra, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, ordered Colonel Anuwat Panyanun and his team to inspect the area. They discovered more sacks packed with meth pills.
At first, they found 17 sacks, each holding about 200,000 meth pills, totalling 3.4 million. Continued patrols along the escape trails uncovered four more sacks, bringing the total to 21. Six sacks contained 300,000 meth pills each, with the rest holding 200,000 each. In total, soldiers seized around 4.8 million pills.
Initial reports say 15 to 20 people were carrying backpacks across the border. After the shootout, the group scattered, leaving the drugs behind and escaping into the darkness. Two more bodies were found along the escape route.
Officials believe this area is a key route for traffickers moving drugs from Myanmar into Thailand. The border is close to Ban Mae Jok, which is said to be under the influence of the Musoe group led by Ja Ngoi. Drug production sites in the area connect to southern Wa territories, making it a hotspot for trafficking attempts.
Maj. Gen Kidakorn has ordered ongoing patrols and strict controls in the region to stop more drug runs. The authorities stressed the need for constant watch along these border areas to prevent more trafficking and keep communities safe.
He said in June alone, soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force clashed three times with drug trafficking groups trying to smuggle narcotics across forested borders in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
On 13 June, authorities shot and killed four drug couriers, seizing 400,000 methamphetamine pills, 500 grams of heroin, and a homemade shotgun. Another incident on 20 June resulted in two more traffickers being killed and another 400,000 meth pills confiscated, both events taking place in Fang District, Chiang Mai.
Later, a similar confrontation happened in Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai. Altogether, eight suspected traffickers died in these clashes.
