CHIANG MAI – Thai army rangers report three suspected drug couriers were killed during a late-night exchange of gunfire near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai. Officers also seized three sack-style backpacks filled with methamphetamine tablets, reported to total about 500,000 pills.
On Monday, Maj Gen Sathit Waiyanon, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, ordered a joint team led by Col Mechai Nilsat, deputy commander, to inspect the area near Ban Na Ma Uen, Mae Ai sub-district.
Intelligence from the Ranger Control Centre under the Third Army Region Operations Centre indicated a large drug shipment would be moved through forested mountain routes into Thailand.
Rangers moved in to monitor the route. At about 8.00 pm, officers spotted a group of roughly five to eight people walking through the woods from the border into Thai territory. Each person was carrying a modified backpack made from woven sacks.
When officers identified themselves and signalled for a search, the group allegedly opened fire with firearms of an unknown type to clear an escape path. Rangers returned fire, and the clash lasted around five minutes. No officers were injured.
Because it was dark and visibility was poor, the team secured the scene overnight and called in extra personnel before a full search.
At daylight, Col Mechai and related agencies inspected the site. Units from the Ranger Control Centre, the Third Army Region Operations Centre, and support teams working with a rapid-movement company of the Pha Muang Task Force held the area. Three bodies were found along the forest line.
Officers searched the modified backpacks and found methamphetamine tablets inside all three. The total seizure was reported as 500,000 tablets. A locally made long gun with ammunition was also found, along with six spent 7.22 mm cartridge cases.
The evidence was seized and handed to Mae Ai Police Station for legal action.
Col Mechai said the suspect group was believed to include five to eight people. The next step is to confirm the identities of the three dead men and use that information to expand the investigation.
The Pha Muang Task Force also reported that from 1 October 2568 to the present, officers have intercepted drug smuggling 142 times, seizing 73,202,835 meth tablets and 1,149 kilograms of ice, among other items.
Over the same period, there were 20 armed clashes, with 11 suspects reported killed. Authorities estimate that if all seized drugs had reached Bangkok, the trade value could have caused losses of about 12,130.7 million baht.
Chiang Mai Drug Runners Apprehended
Also on Monday, Kamphaeng Phet police arrested a 41-year-old Myanmar man at the Ban Koh Rak Siat drug checkpoint in Kosamphi Nakhon district. Officers found almost 3 million methamphetamine pills in a white pick-up truck, with an estimated value of 105,000,000 baht.
Investigators later tracked down and arrested two more suspects at a home in Chiang Mai.
The arrest followed an operation on 15 Dec, while officers were working the Ban Koh Rak Siat checkpoint in Kosamphi Nakhon. A white pick-up truck, registration plate Yom 6117 Chiang Mai, approached the checkpoint driven by Mr Rung Raksasin, a 41-year-old Myanmar national.
Police noticed suspicious items in the rear of the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop for a search. Inside the back of the pick-up, officers found large quantities of methamphetamine pills, later counted at 2,989,600.
During initial questioning, the driver admitted he had been hired by a northern drug network to deliver the drugs to customers in inner provinces. Police detained him and continued the investigation to identify others involved.
This led to the arrest of two more Myanmar nationals, Mr Pok (45) and Mr Tan Htun, at a residence in San Sai district, Chiang Mai. Police said the group worked together, using a lead vehicle and a transport vehicle to move methamphetamine into inner areas. Mr Tan Htun denied the charges.
The arrest team informed all three suspects of their rights and the allegations against them. Police also seized key evidence, including the pick-up truck, mobile phones, and the drugs. The suspects and items were handed to investigators for legal proceedings, with further enquiries ongoing to trace and prosecute anyone else linked to the network.
