CHIANG RAI – Suspicious rice straw deliveries from Chiang Rai to the central region have led to a major drug bust, after police uncovered half a tonne of crystal meth hidden in a lorry. The drugs were disguised under bales of rice straw and were on their way to Ayutthaya, with the smugglers expecting a payment of 1 million baht.
Pol Maj Gen Manop Senakul, Chiang Rai Provincial Police Chief, received a report from the Chiang Rai Provincial Investigation Division about a suspicious Hino Innovator green lorry with Chiang Rai plates. The truck had been carrying rice straw from Phan district in Chiang Rai to the central region, passing through Suphan Buri several times, which raised questions.
If it were only transporting straw, the trips would not have made financial sense over such a long distance.
Police set up surveillance and soon confirmed that the driver of the lorry often loaded rice straw at a warehouse on a farm in Moo 7, San Klang subdistrict, Phan district, then headed towards the central region again and again.
At about 5.00 am Wednesday, officers lay in wait near the warehouse and spotted the target lorry arriving from Chiang Saen district in Chiang Rai, near the Thai–Lao PDR border. The truck drove into the warehouse, where workers began loading rice straw onto the back of the vehicle as usual. Police then moved in and identified themselves before starting a full search.
They found two people loading the straw, Mr Nitiphon, aged 50, and Ms Wimonwan, aged 48, both residents of San Klang subdistrict, Phan district. Officers also found a white Mitsubishi pickup truck with Ayutthaya registration plates at the scene.
A search of the lorry bed uncovered 20 sacks that had been mixed in with the rice straw. Each sack contained crystal methamphetamine, a Category 1 narcotic, weighing about 25 kilograms per sack. In total, police seized around 500 kilograms of crystal meth as evidence and arrested both suspects on the spot.
During initial questioning, both suspects admitted that they had collected the drugs from Chiang Saen earlier that same morning. They were supposed to deliver the shipment to Ayutthaya province in exchange for a fee of 1 million baht.
After leaving Chiang Saen, they had driven to the warehouse to load rice straw on top of the drugs to hide them.
Police have taken the suspects and all seized evidence to investigators for legal action and further investigation to track down others involved in the smuggling network.
