CHIANG RAI – Police have arrested two men late at night as they tried to move 1,200,000 meth pills from the border area between Mae Sai and Mae Chan, Chiang Rai. One man rode ahead on a motorcycle to check the route, while the other drove a black Chevrolet pickup loaded with six sacks of drugs.
Officers set up a checkpoint on a secondary road in Ban Pong, Ban Dai subdistrict, Mae Sai. This followed a tip-off that a group planned to transport drugs from the Thai-Myanmar border, avoiding major checkpoints.
During heavy rain in the early hours of July 15, police spotted the pair. The motorcycle led, and the pickup followed behind. When the drivers saw the checkpoint, they tried to escape but were stopped by the police.
Police identified Mr. Uthai as the motorcycle rider and Mr. Rewat as the pickup driver. In the truck, they found six rice sacks, each holding about 200,000 meth pills, totalling 1.2 million pills. Both men were soaked from the rain when arrested. Officers also seized two mobile phones.
Mr. Rewat admitted he was paid 250,000 baht by a Myanmar national to move the drugs, which had been hidden near Pha Hee village and a teak plantation in Mae Chan. He was supposed to deliver the shipment to an agreed-upon location further inside the country.
Mr. Uthai, who led the way on his motorcycle, claimed he was paid only 1,500 baht for his part. Police took both men and the seized drugs to the police station for further legal action.
