CHIANG RAI – Police Region 5 announces a major drug seizure of over 1 tonne, arresting six suspects and planning to boost X-ray equipment in the area. Police seized 578 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 529 kilograms of ketamine.
Pol Lt General Kritthaphon Yisakhon, Commander of Region 5 Police, along with Chiang Rai officials and related units, held a press conference detailing the interception of two large drug shipments.
The first case happened late on 13 May. Around 11:40 pm, Chiang Rai police stopped a white Mitsubishi XPANDER near the provincial government complex and found 578 kilograms of ice hidden inside. A white ISUZU DMAX tried to escape but crashed into a roadside ditch in Ban Farm, Rim Kok, Chiang Rai City, the next day. Officers found a phone and documents in the car, which were handed over for legal action.
The second case took place on 17 May around 9:00 pm. Police tracked a group moving 529 kilograms of ketamine from the Chiang Saen district. Four vehicles tried to avoid a checkpoint in Phan, but police caught two cars with two suspects.
Another car crashed, and the driver fled. In the early hours of 18 May, police caught two more vehicles and three more suspects in Mae Tam, Phayao. That evening, the last suspect was found hiding in a fruit farm hut in Huai Tum, Phan district, Chiang Rai. All suspects and evidence were handed over for prosecution.
The six suspects are: Mr. Nares, 51; Mr. Manothai, 42; Mr. Rawut, 26; Mr. Rittai, 40 (all from Wang Saphung, Loei); Ms. Waralakmee, 55 (from Nam Man, Loei); and Mr. Teerawit, 43 (from Taling Chan, Bangkok).
They told police they were paid by a Myanmar broker to transport the drugs from Chiang Saen further into the country. This was their third job, each earning them 1,000,000 baht.
Pol Lt General Kritthaphon said that the crackdown involves cooperation across several agencies. Drug seizures have increased fiftyfold over the past year. Traffickers have changed their routes because of frequent arrests and moved to eastern and western paths, but tighter checks are now forcing them back north.
To step up border security, police will add two more X-ray vehicles in Chiang Rai. Extra resources aim to make drug interceptions even more effective.
