CHIANG RAI – Border Patrol Police intercepted a pickup loaded with crystal meth and engaged in a late-night chase that ended in a crash. One passenger jumped from the vehicle and was injured. The driver kept going, fired at officers, and escaped on foot after the truck flipped.
On Friday, Pol. Lt. Gen. Rungroj Thakurapunyasiri, Commissioner of the Border Patrol Police, led officers from BPP Company 327, BPP Company 32, and the Region 3 Border Patrol Police to seize 10 sacks of crystal meth. The drugs weighed about 200 kilograms.
The operation began after BPP Company 327 received intelligence that a trafficking ring would move drugs from the mountains onto Route 1130, the Ban Pa Miang to Mae Chan road, in Pa Sang, Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai. Teams were deployed to block routes overnight.
At about 12.20 a.m., officers spotted a grey-black Ford pickup with Chiang Rai plates that matched the tip-off. Pol. Col. Rangsiman Songkroetham, Deputy Director of the Region 3 BPP Narcotics Centre, coordinated with Pol. Capt. Ananyawat Rattanawichai, commander of BPP Company 327, was to stop the vehicle.
The pickup fled onto Phahon Yothin Road, then headed north toward Mae Chan.
Police pursued at close range. Near Wat Mae Kham in Mae Kham, Mae Chan, officers saw the passenger door open and a man jump out. He was injured at the roadside and was detained. He was later identified as Mr. Ja Ue, a Lahu man.
Another team continued after the pickup to the front of Ban Mae Kham (Prachanu-kroh) School. The driver fired a gun from the moving vehicle at officers, who returned fire. The chase continued to the front of Ban San Kong School in Mae Rai, Mae Chan.
The driver lost control and slammed into roadwork barriers and a roadside sign. The truck overturned, and the driver fled into the dark.
Officers searched the vehicle and found 10 rainbow-striped woven sacks. Inside were packages of Category 1 narcotics, crystal meth, weighing about 200 kilograms in total. The drugs were seized as evidence. Charges are being prepared against Mr. Ja Ue, and police are working to track down the fleeing driver.
