CHIANG RAI – Gunfire echoed across Doi Pha Mee, near the Thai-Myanmar border, as soldiers from Pha Meuang Task Force encountered a group of smugglers attempting to bring methamphetamine into Thailand late at night.
The smugglers fired at the soldiers while trying to escape, leaving behind ten sacks full of methamphetamine tablets strewn across the mountain. Officers counted at least 10 million pills abandoned in the rush.
On 9 September, military personnel from Task Force Jaotak inspected an area near Ban Pha Mee in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, right along the Thai-Myanmar border. The unit, assigned to watch and block any violations under the 2021 Narcotics Code, was on patrol throughout the night.
Late in the evening, they spotted about 8 to 10 suspects, each carrying large, modified backpacks along a narrow mountain route. As officials stepped forward to search them, the group opened fire using unidentified guns. The firefight lasted roughly five minutes. All soldiers remained unharmed. More troops soon arrived to support the operation.
At sunrise, around 6:30 a.m., officers returned to sweep the area. They did not find any suspects but came across ten large sacks left behind. Inside each sack was methamphetamine with roughly 200,000 pills per bag, totalling around 2 million tablets scattered through the forest.
Officers seized the drugs as evidence and coordinated with relevant agencies for further investigation and processing.
Methamphetamine Smuggling into Chiang Rai
Since the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar has become a main source of methamphetamine production and trafficking. The regions of Shan State, which form part of the Golden Triangle, are at the heart of this trade.
Unrest and economic problems after the coup have led to a sharp increase in the production of synthetic drugs. Methamphetamine, sold as both yaba tablets and crystal ice, now spreads across regional and global markets.
The area’s remote landscape, weak governance, and involvement of ethnic armed groups and militias linked to the military have helped drug networks expand. These groups often receive the chemical ingredients they need, called precursors, smuggled in from China and India.
Traffickers use well-organized routes across Southeast Asia to move these drugs into countries like Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, and India. Some shipments even reach as far as Australia and Japan. A price drop reflects how much of this drug now moves through these networks.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stresses the need for countries to work together to control the chemicals used in drug production and to break up trafficking routes. Still, the ongoing civil war and lack of stable government in Myanmar allow criminal groups to take advantage of the chaos and continue their operations.
