CHIANG MAI -Soldiers assigned to the Pha Meuang Task Force have seized 3.5 million meth pills and killed 5 drug runners over two days in the mountainous border area of Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai.
The Pha Meuang Task Force received solid intelligence about a narcotics shipment moving into the Fang border area in broad daylight. As a result, cavalry troops from Pa Dong Headquarters under the Chaiyanupap Task Force, working with Thai Rangers, set up patrols to block the route.
The operation focused on the border zone near Ban San Ju, Mon Pin Subdistrict, Fang District, Chiang Mai. Troops from the 4th Cavalry Company (Pa Dong) and Rangers from Company 3207 under the 3rd Army Region Ranger Control Command, Pha Muang Force, kept up joint patrols in the area.
At about 11:00 a.m. on February 14, 2026, the patrol team spotted a group believed to be smuggling drugs from outside Thailand into the border area. A firefight broke out and lasted more than five minutes.
Because the group reportedly carried military-grade weapons, the commander ordered units to hold their positions and reinforced the area with two additional teams. They maintained control of the scene overnight, planning a detailed sweep the next morning (February 15, 2026).
During a search covering roughly two kilometers, soldiers found five bodies from the opposing group, believed to have been killed during the clash. Officers also recovered five sacks scattered around the area. Inside were methamphetamine pills, estimated at 1,000,000 tablets.
Pha Muang Force commander Maj. Gen. Sathit Waiyanon assigned Col. Meechai Nilsat, deputy commander of Pha Muang Force, to coordinate the next steps with related agencies.
The joint group included units from Nor Bor Yor Sor 35, Pha Muang Task Force intelligence, Fang Provincial Police, Border Patrol Police 334, a prosecutor, and medical staff. Officials planned to brief the public on the incident and then hand the evidence to investigators at Fang Police Station for legal proceedings.
Soldier Find Meth Stash
The pressure along the Chiang Mai border hasn’t eased. After the Fang interception and the deadly clash, the Rangers moved quickly on fresh tips. Not even a day later, officers reported another major find, with meth pills allegedly stashed in a forested area.
On February 15, Ranger troops from Company 3102 under the 3rd Army Region Operations Center and Pha Muang Force learned that a drug network might move narcotics across the Thailand-Myanmar border near Ban Tha Makhaeng, Tha Ton Subdistrict, Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai.
When they arrived, they did not see any suspects. Still, the terrain was steep and heavily wooded, so the team relied on local information. A tipster reported seeing many feed sacks hidden among teak trees near the village area. Rangers then spread out to search.
Under a large tree, officers found a pile of feed sacks. The total came to 19 sacks. After opening them for inspection, the team found methamphetamine pills inside, about 130,000 tablets per sack.
Drug Seizures in Chiang Mai Since October 2025
The total seizure was estimated at roughly 2,500,000 pills. Rangers secured the drugs as evidence and continued searching for anyone connected to the stash.
Pha Muang Task Force reported that from October 1, 2025, to the present, authorities have intercepted narcotics 228 times. They arrested 239 suspects. Seizures during that period included:
- Location: The mountainous border area in the Mae Ai District of Chiang Mai.
- The Unit: Soldiers from the Pha Meuang Task Force led the operation.
- The Seizure: Authorities confiscated 3.5 million methamphetamine pills.
- The Confrontation: Five drug runners were killed during the two-day mission.
- Timeline: The entire operation took place over a 48-hour period.
- Methamphetamine pills: 125,163,622 tablets
- Heroin: 1.3 kilograms
- Crystal meth (ice): 2,356.2 kilograms
- Opium: 6.2 kilograms
Officials said if these drugs had reached Bangkok, the estimated damage based on street-sale value could have reached 24,407 million baht.
During the same period, authorities reported 32 armed clashes with smuggling groups, with 16 deaths among those groups. In the most recent case near Ban San Ju in Mon Pin Subdistrict, Fang District, Chiang Mai, the Chaiyanupap Task Force and Ranger Company 3207 seized 14 sacks containing more than 1,000,000 meth pills. Five members of the smuggling group died during the confrontation.
