CHIANG RAI – Narcotic Suppression Police report Phayao is showing signs of being both a stopover point and a route for illegal drugs. In two back-to-back cases, police and local officials seized large amounts of methamphetamine pills and crystal meth (ice) after raids in Chiang Kham and Phu Sang.
On March 14, 2026, Police in Northern Thailand’s Phayao Province received a tip that drugs were being moved with farm products. The shipment reportedly entered the Chiang Kham district first, then headed to Central Thailand.
According to the Manager Online, Phayao police coordinated with Chiang Kham district officers and a joint team that included local administration staff and volunteer defense units. The group, about 20 officers, went to check a suspicious location.
They inspected an old rubber-sheet yard in Ban Moo 16, Fai Kwang subdistrict, Chiang Kham. Inside a pavilion, officers found many black bags stacked in rows. Each bag contained fresh ginger, so at first glance, it looked like a normal farm delivery.
However, a detailed search showed something else. Officers found ice hidden inside every bag. In total, they counted 199 bags, with a combined weight of about 597 kilograms of crystal meth.
Investigators said the smugglers mixed the drugs with ginger to hide them from authorities. After that, the group allegedly stored the shipment in Chiang Kham while waiting to move it onward to Lopburi.
Residents nearby told officials they had seen about six suspicious men earlier. The men wore hats and covered their faces while unloading the black bags into the pavilion. When they noticed official vehicles entering the area, they quickly fled on motorcycles.
Police seized all the ice as evidence and sent it to Chiang Kham Police Station. Officers also started checks for latent fingerprints and pushed forward with an expanded investigation to identify and arrest those involved.
A day earlier, on March 13, Chiang Kham district officials ordered another operation under the Quick Big Win policy, part of the “Phayao Protection” campaign. The move followed an arrest on March 12, when officers caught a suspect with meth pills. After that arrest, investigators received information pointing to another source in the network.
Officials set up an undercover purchase targeting two suspects, Somyot and Wanna (last names withheld). Both are linked to the Sop Bong subdistrict, Phu Sang district, Phayao.
Next, the suspects arranged a handoff on a village road in Konoi village (Moo 1), Thung Kluai subdistrict, Phu Sang. Officers coordinated with Phu Sang district authorities and Phu Sang Police Station, then moved in as the suspects arrived.
During the search, officers found 15 bundles of meth pills. Each bundle held 2,000 pills, for a total of 30,000 pills.
Authorities detained both suspects and charged them with selling a Category 1 narcotic (methamphetamine pills) for commercial purposes. Officers sent the suspects and evidence to investigators, while teams continue expanding the case to track the wider drug network.
