CHIANG RAI – Police in Bokeo Province, Laos, which borders Chiang Rai, have seized 8.8 million methamphetamine pills hidden in a freight truck leaving the province in the Golden Triangle region.
On Friday, Lao Security News, a government channel, reported that officers from the Bokeo police command had seized 8,810,000 meth pills, weighing more than 881 kilograms. The drugs were hidden in a 22-wheel truck with Khamphaeng Nakhon licence plates carrying a full load of Beerlao beer. The police also arrested all those involved in transporting the drugs.
The search and arrests happened at about 6:00 a.m. on August 15. Police at Nam Thung checkpoint were on routine duty when they stopped a 22-wheel truck with registration number BP.2111 from Khamphaeng Nakhon.
The truck was moving Beerlao from Bokeo towards Vientiane. The driver, Mr. Yelo, 33, from Xieng Khouang, was called aside for inspection. During the search, officers found drugs hidden under crates of Beerlao bottles. The meth pills were packed in sacks placed on top.
Police detained the driver and took the truck to Bokeo police headquarters. Further checks found a total of 4,405 bags containing methamphetamine, with a combined weight of 881 kilos. Officers arrested the driver and seized all the drugs.
Bokeo Province is a part of the Golden Triangle and sits across from Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and Wiang Kaen in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
This region often sees blocks on drug shipments, mainly methamphetamine pills and crystal meth, since it borders drug-producing areas of Shan State, Myanmar, which routes drugs to northern Thailand.
In May 2025, armed groups attacked 3 to 4 Lao army bases on Phu Pha Mon mountain near Pak Tha town in Bokeo, right by Wiang Kaen district. Several Lao soldiers died in those clashes.
Reports suggest these armed groups are linked to drug trafficking networks that try to move drugs through Laos, skirting the Thai border.
