LAMPANG – Police arrested a 38-year-old man transporting crystal meth from Chiang Mai to central Thailand in Sop Prap district in the southern part of Lampang province. The driver had allegedly made several runs moving drugs to Ayutthaya.
Police said they received early intelligence about a drug smuggling operation, leading to officers keeping watch and setting up checks.
According to police, the suspect stated that after he delivered goods for his company with a 22-wheel trailer, he picked up a large shipment of crystal meth in Lamphun. He tried to hide the drugs on the trailer’s cab roof, planning to deliver them to Ayutthaya for a payment of 120,000 baht.
Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphon Yeesakhorn (the Provincial Police Region 5 commander) told Manager Online that police set up a checkpoint on Phahonyothin Road in front of Chai Sri Phum Temple after receiving information from a tipster.
They had been told that a group was preparing to move a large quantity of drugs from Lamphun through the Sop Prap district, using the main highway that passes this checkpoint.
Officers then monitored vehicles matching the provided vehicle details. Around 4:40 pm, a white 22-wheel Isuzu truck with Chiang Mai plates, matching the description, approached the Sop Prap checkpoint in Lampang. Police flagged down the driver and asked him to stop on the left for inspection.
The driver, Mr. Damrong (38), said he was coming from Lamphun and heading towards Ayutthaya. Officers noticed Mr. Damrong acting nervously, his hands shaking, and avoiding eye contact. He was fidgety and gave muddled answers, appearing as if he may have used drugs.
Police reassured him about the search and asked his permission to check both his person and the truck.
They found nothing illegal on Mr. Damrong during a personal search, but in the truck’s cab, they found five methamphetamine pills. Digging deeper, they searched the trailer closely, with Mr. Damrong present, and found eight large sacks of crystal meth (about 100 kilograms) hidden on the trailer’s roof.
Police detained and questioned Mr. Damrong, who admitted he had been hired to drive the 22-wheel truck by his company and secretly transport this load of crystal meth from Lamphun to Ayutthaya. On 5 September 2025, he had taken goods from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. After delivering them, he parked the truck in Lamphun to wait for the next delivery.
On 9 September 2025, he learned about the next trip to Bangkok, so he contacted his friend Mr. Sitthisak, also known as Prem (30), who lived in the same Chiang Mai village and used to work for the same company. Mr. Damrong told Sitthisak about his intended delivery to Bangkok.
Sitthisak then asked him to collect the crystal meth in Lamphun and carry it along. If successful, he would get paid 120,000 baht.
Mr. Damrong said this was not the first time he had smuggled drugs. For this job, Sitthisak told him to meet a contact called Mr. Aun (surname unknown) in the centre of Lamphun to arrange the exchange. Mr. Aun handed over large black plastic bags to Mr. Damrong, who then hid them on the trailer’s roof.
After this, they went their separate ways. Mr. Damrong then drove the truck from Lamphun, heading for Ayutthaya, but was stopped and arrested by the Sop Prap police.
This drug ring transports narcotics from the border regions deeper into the country. Lampang police are now moving quickly to trace everyone involved and intend to seize assets from those linked to the group, following government and national police policy.
Between 1 October 2024 and 10 September 2025, Provincial Police Region 5 handled 25,695 drug cases. Seized items included over 260 million methamphetamine pills, more than 11,900 kilograms of crystal meth, over 211 kilograms of heroin, around 1,840 kilograms of ketamine, and about 160 kilograms of opium.
