CHIANG MAI – Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force intercepted a drug caravan near the border at Ban Arunothai, where traffickers tried to move drugs through local farmland. Troops moved in to block the route, and a fierce gunfight followed.
Soldiers later seized nearly 2 million methamphetamine pills, along with hand grenades. In less than 3 months, more than 70 million pills have been confiscated in the area.
At about 7.30 am this morning, Dec 8, 20205, Col Dechathorn Saiyut, deputy commander of the Chaiyanuphap Task Force under the Pha Muang Task Force, led troops to inspect the water pipeline route behind Ban Arunothai, Moo 10, Muang Na sub-district, Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province.
At around 6.00 pm on December 7th, soldiers from Cavalry Company 2, Chaiyanuphap Task Force, had received a report that a group of around 7 to 8 suspicious men were moving along the Thai-Myanmar border and had crossed into Thailand through the Nong Kalang 1 crossing point. A patrol was sent out to check the area.
By about 10.30 pm the same night, officers spotted a larger group of armed men, now around 20 to 25 people. They were walking along the water pipeline route behind Ban Arunothai, cutting through villagers’ corn and soybean fields.
Each man carried a green rucksack-style sack on his back. Soldiers tried to signal them to stop for a search, but the group opened fire first with unknown weapons. This triggered a gunfight that lasted about 5 minutes, with loud gunfire echoing across the area.
Once the shooting stopped and checks confirmed that all soldiers were safe, troops spread out and secured the scene.
At first light, officers moved in to inspect the clash site but found no bodies. The traffickers are believed to have escaped during the night. However, in a soybean field nearby, soldiers found 18 straw sacks scattered on the ground.
Each sack contained methamphetamine pills, classed as a type 1 narcotic, with around 100,000 pills per sack. In total, they seized about 1,800,000 methamphetamine pills. Officers also found 2 hand grenades, 1 mobile phone, and a magazine with 13 rounds of ammunition. All items were seized as evidence for further investigation, and troops have tightened security and interception measures in the area.
According to reports, from 1 October 2568 to the present, Pha Muang Task Force soldiers have intercepted drug smuggling attempts 123 times. They have arrested 119 suspects and seized 69,232,553 methamphetamine pills, 1.2 kilograms of heroin, 899 kilograms of crystal meth (ice), and 1.54 kilograms of opium.
There have been 17 armed clashes with trafficking groups, in which 8 suspects died. If the seized drugs had reached Bangkok, the estimated street value would have been about 11 billion baht (US345 million), causing huge damage to the economy and public safety.
