On Wednesday, soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force clashed fiercely with a drug caravan on the Chiang Rai border in broad daylight, seizing 800,000 methamphetamine pills in Mae Fah Luang District, Chiang Rai.
Maj. Gen. Kittakorn Chantra, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said the backpacking drug caravan crossed the Mae Fah Luang border in broad daylight around 11:30 am. Upon seeing the soldiers, the drug runners opened fire, igniting a firefight between both groups.
The firefight lasted approximately 5 minutes, and the drug runners managed to escape across the natural border into Myanmar.
The soldiers, under the command of Col. Anuwat Panyanant, secured the area and found a long trail of blood leading to 4 modified backpacks containing 200,000 methamphetamine pills each, totalling 800,000 methamphetamine pills in all.
Maj. Gen. Kittakorn told reporters the drug problem is not only a Thai national concern but also an international one. Combating drug trafficking, widely regarded as one of the most serious types of international crime, necessitates ASEAN coordination.
These large-scale production and storage facilities buried along border areas pose a chronic challenge requiring effective collaborative efforts.
