CHIANG RAI – On Tuesday, Pol Maj Gen Manop Senakul, Commander of Chiang Rai Provincial Police, told a press briefing that officers seized 3,000,000 methamphetamine pills on the access road to the Chiang Rai Contemporary Art Museum in Rim Kok subdistrict, Mueang district, Chiang Rai province, near Mae Fah Luang Airport.
Along the roadside, close to rice fields, officers found several suspicious bags, scattered and left unattended, that looked like drug packaging. On inspection, police discovered methamphetamine tablets packed in purple zip-lock bags, wrapped in white mulberry paper and white waxed paper, stamped with a red five-pointed star and the number 999.
The packaging matched that used by a known drug trafficking network operating along the border. In total, the bags contained around 3,000,000 methamphetamine pills.
Police believe the drugs were left as a temporary stash point before being moved further inland for distribution. Officers have seized all the narcotics as evidence and are investigating to identify and prosecute everyone involved.
On Sunday, soldiers from the Thap Chao Tak Task Force, under the Pha Muang Force, clashed with a group of drug couriers. The operation stopped a huge shipment of methamphetamine tablets, about 2,200,000 pills.
Before the confrontation, the Pha Muang Force had received intelligence that a drug trafficking group planned to smuggle narcotics from a neighbouring country into Thailand.
The route would pass through the border area in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai, then continue to the networks waiting to move the drugs to the inner provinces. After receiving the report, commanders ordered the Thap Chao Tak Task Force to work with other relevant agencies to plan a joint operation to block and arrest the group.
On Saturday at about 19.00 hrs, troops from the 2nd Cavalry Company, Thap Chao Tak Task Force, went out on a border patrol along the Thai-Myanmar line in Ban Pha Mee, Wiang Phang Kham subdistrict, Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai.
The patrol spotted a group of about 10 to 12 suspicious people carrying modified fertiliser sacks on their backs as they walked into Thai territory. When officers signalled for them to stop for a search, the group immediately opened fire to clear a way to escape.
The soldiers returned fire, and the gunfight lasted for about 5 minutes. When the shooting stopped, all officers were safe. The suspects abandoned their loads and used their knowledge of the terrain to flee. Officers believe they retreated across the border into the neighbouring country, as the clash took place at night in difficult conditions. Troops then called in reinforcements to secure and control the area around the contact point.
At about 07.00 hrs on Sunday morning, officers searched and examined the area around the scene. They found 11 modified rucksacks left at the site. Inside each sack were packages of methamphetamine tablets, about 200,000 pills per sack, a total of roughly 2,200,000 pills.
Later, Major General Sathit Waiyanon, commander of the Pha Muang Force, together with Colonel Suphan Roipot, commander of the Thap Chao Tak Task Force, led officers from all relevant agencies to inspect the scene and the seized drugs, then briefed the media.
After the press visit, the seized items were handed over to investigators at Mae Sai Police Station to extend the investigation and proceed with legal action.
