CHIANG RAI – Police have seized over 2 million meth pills after they stopped a suspect vehicle at the Pu Kaeng checkpoint on Phahonyothin Road, just before the border into Phayao. The stop happened in Phan District, Chiang Rai, on Friday.
Officers searched a white Isuzu single-cab pickup with a Bangkok license plate. The truck had a closed cargo box and was coming from Mueang Chiang Rai, heading toward Phayao. The driver, 45-year-old Amnuay from Min Buri, Bangkok, told police he was hired to deliver garlic.
Police asked to open the cargo area. Inside, they found the bed packed with fresh garlic, and the strong smell filled the air. However, when officers checked beneath the garlic pile, they discovered 10 hidden woven sacks.
After opening the sacks, police found methamphetamine tablets inside. Each sack reportedly held about 200,000 pills, for a total of roughly 2,000,000 pills. Officers arrested the driver at the scene.
Investigators believe the drugs were transported from the Thai-Myanmar border area, on the Mae Fah Luang District side of Chiang Rai. The shipment was allegedly headed to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and nearby provinces around Bangkok. The smugglers placed garlic on top to help conceal the sacks and mask the odor.
Police transferred the suspect and evidence to investigators at Phan Police Station for prosecution and for further follow-up on the network.
Woman Runs Police Checkpoint in Phayao
In Phayao, Chiang Kham Police set up a checkpoint after receiving intelligence about drug trafficking in the area. They set up the checkpoint near Ban Hae, Moo 5, Mae Lao Subdistrict, Chiang Kham District, on Friday night.
Later, officers spotted a suspicious pickup approaching and signaled the driver to stop, but the driver sped off. Officers chased the vehicle and managed to block it on a road inside Chiang Ban village, Moo 10, Chiang Ban Subdistrict, Chiang Kham District.
The driver was a 31-year-old woman from Pha Chang Noi Subdistrict, Pong District, Phayao. Her truck bed was loaded with watermelons, which appeared to be used as cover. After a careful search, officers found one plastic bag hidden inside the vehicle.
The bag contained four large bundles of methamphetamine tablets, totaling about 8,000 pills.
Police took the suspect to Chiang Kham Police Station for questioning. She admitted she was hired to deliver the drugs in Chiang Kham. She said she used the watermelon load to hide the shipment and claimed she received the drugs from a hill-tribe group. She also said she didn’t know the exact origin, but she knew the destination was Chiang Kham.
Phayao police said investigators would expand the case to identify suppliers and the wider trafficking network. They added that reports of drug transport through Chiang Kham have increased, so all units have been told to tighten checks and watch key targets to prevent more drugs from entering the area.
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