CHIANG RAI – Police have announced the results of a major narcotics crackdown covering five key cases in northern Thailand. Officers arrested 10 suspects and seized 21 million methamphetamine pills, along with 320 kilograms of crystal meth. Authorities are now expanding the investigation to dismantle the wider cross-border drug network.
On March 23, 2026, Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphon Yeesakhon, Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 5, joined military officers, police, and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board to present details of the operations. The cases took place across three northern provinces.
The first case happened in Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai. Officers stopped three motorcycles and arrested five suspects. The group admitted they worked as scouts, checking the route ahead for a drug convoy. Soon after, police spotted a suspicious car that broke through a checkpoint and fled.
The driver, identified as “Mr. Wong,” escaped after abandoning the vehicle on the roadside. A search of the car uncovered 7 million meth pills. The suspects said the drugs had been moved from the Mekong River border area and were heading to Phayao province.
In the second case, in Wiang Chai district, Chiang Rai, police received a tip from a local resident about suspicious fertilizer sacks left in a roadside wooded area near the wall of a private company.
When officers checked the scene, they found 3.5 million meth pills hidden inside. The drugs appeared to have been stored there temporarily while waiting for transport. However, no suspects were found at the site.
The third case took place in Sop Prap district, Lampang. Officers used artificial intelligence to analyze vehicle license plates and noticed unusual movement involving three cars traveling together from Chiang Rai.
Police then moved in and surrounded the vehicles. During the operation, they found 320 kilograms of crystal meth hidden in a car parked at a resort.
The fourth case happened in Song district, Phrae, and started with the quick thinking of a hired truck driver. He had been paid to collect empty baskets from a warehouse, but he became suspicious because the load felt unusually heavy.
He then alerted police. Officers inspected the baskets and found 8 million meth pills hidden inside. Investigators said the baskets had been transported from Phayao and stored at a warehouse in Phrae before being prepared for shipment to Suphan Buri. Police are now tracking down everyone connected to the operation.
The fifth case occurred at the Mae Phrik checkpoint in Lampang. Officers intercepted two pickup trucks that tried to escape by taking a side route. Police blocked the road and stopped both vehicles. Two suspects were arrested, and officers found another 2.5 million meth pills concealed inside the trucks.
Police also shared broader enforcement figures from Region 5. Between October 1, 2025, and March 22, 2026, officers handled more than 14,200 drug cases.
During that time, they seized over 268 million meth pills, 5,750 kilograms of crystal meth, 72 kilograms of heroin, 567 kilograms of ketamine, and 187 kilograms of opium. Authorities also confiscated assets tied to drug activity worth about 535 million baht.
These results reflect ongoing efforts to stop narcotics from moving deeper into the country and to break up trafficking networks operating across the northern border.
