NAN – Police have tracked the activities of a Malaysian drug trafficking group moving crystal meth from Laos into Thailand. A Malaysian man was stopped at the permanent Huai Kon border checkpoint with 72 kilograms of crystal meth, valued at over $2.7 million in third countries.
Investigators noticed that the same rented vehicle had crossed the Nan border several times, though the driver was often different. On this occasion, the car entered Thailand through the Sadao checkpoint, travelled to Laos, and then returned to Thailand in a single day.
Mechanical problems with the vehicle raised suspicion, leading to the arrest. Along with the arrested Malaysian man, a Thai woman and another Malaysian man are believed to be involved.
Customs and immigration officials at the Huai Kon checkpoint in Nan province, along with border police and soldiers, arrested Mr. Surrenthiran Jayabalan, a Malaysian citizen, on July 14. He was caught driving a Lexus with Malaysian plates and carrying 72 kilograms of crystal meth hidden in the car.
The vehicle had arrived from Laos and appeared suspicious due to visible black smoke from the exhaust. When Mr. Jayabalan reached the checkpoint, he got out of the vehicle and asked officers for help, claiming the car broke down after being filled with the wrong fuel at a station in Muang Ngern, Laos. He said the car would not restart.
When officers asked for the car keys, Mr. Jayabalan refused, saying the car was locked and he wanted a tow truck. His unusual behaviour and the frequent, quick cross-border trips of the same vehicle stood out to authorities, especially since tourism visits typically follow a different pattern. Officers decided to detain him and search the car.
Inside, police discovered 72 bags of crystal meth weighing a total of 72 kilograms, hidden in the spare tire compartment and under the back seat. The drugs would be worth over 90 million baht if sold in a third country.
Officers noted that the same rental car from Malaysia had crossed at Huai Kon at least twice before, each time with a different driver.
The vehicle would exit and re-enter within a day. This pattern started in April and repeated in May and June. On this occasion, a fuel mix-up in Laos caused the car to break down at the checkpoint, prompting a thorough search.
Interviews revealed the car entered Thailand from Malaysia at the Sadao border in Songkhla province on July 11. It left Laos at the Huai Kon checkpoint in Nan on the morning of July 13, heading to Muang Ngern in Laos.
Mr. Jayabalan drove the car involved in the arrest, while another Malaysian man and a Thai woman who travelled with him used a different car. As of now, there is no information on the whereabouts of the other Malaysian man and the Thai woman who travelled together and left Thailand.
Recent data shows that drug traffickers have started using new routes through Nan and Loei provinces, instead of the heavily monitored Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai borders, to move drugs from Laos into Thailand and then on to other countries.
The borders at Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai now have tougher checks and better technology to stop smugglers. In contrast, the Nan and Loei routes, which run close to the Mekong River, have fewer resources and equipment to stop drug trafficking.
Nan Governor Chainarong Wongyai said this was the first arrest of a foreign national smuggling drugs across this border. He suggested that the increased security at northern checkpoints may be pushing traffickers to look for new routes.
He added that the arrest is a warning that Nan province is now being used as a transit point for drug smuggling, and steps will be taken to strengthen prevention efforts in the area.
