Soldiers Kill 15 Drug Runners in the Golden Triangle

After a gunfight with drug runners in a forest near the Myanmar border in Fang district, soldiers discovered 15 bodies and 29 sacks of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice.”

The clash occurred on Wednesday evening in tambon Mon Pin, between Ban Pa Kha and Ban Khob Dong, according to Maj Gen Suparerk Sathapornpol, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force.

The clash occurred near the “Golden Triangle,” which connects Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos and has long been a smuggling hotspot despite repeated crackdowns.

When soldiers on patrol spotted a group of about 20 men walking through the forest near the Myanmar border, they ordered them to stop.

He claimed that the men retaliated with gunfire. The two sides fought for about 10 minutes before the guns went silent. Soldiers stood guard in the area all night Wednesday.

They searched the area yesterday morning and discovered 15 bodies and 29 bags containing crystal meth, a highly addictive stimulant commonly produced in Myanmar and shipped through Thailand and Laos for export throughout Asia. Carbine rifles and a hand grenade were also discovered at the scene.

According to a source, the drug shipment was believed to be the work of an Akha tribe group led by a man only identified as Beleh in Tachileik, Shan State, Myanmar.

Soldiers Seized Marijuana on Mekong Banks

A large amount of compressed marijuana was seized from the bank of the Mekong River in Ban Phaeng district late Monday night by a patrol of the Mekong Riverine Unit (MRU).

The patrol spotted eighteen large bags and six motorcycle sidecars on the river bank near Ban Don Phaeng in tambon Ban Phaeng.

The bags were filled with one-kilogram bars of compressed marijuana, totaling approximately 900-1,000kgs.

The drug was smuggled across the river from Laos and dumped on the riverbank for further distribution by drug couriers.

According to the MRU, approximately 10 tonnes of smuggled marijuana have been seized in this northeastern border province since early this year.

Meth Seized in north by Soldiers

On November 26, four members of a suspected drug network in the south were apprehended in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and 1.2 million meth pills were seized, while another 300,000 speed pills were discovered abandoned by a smuggler in Chiang Mai’s Fang district, authorities said on Saturday.

Soldiers also seized a pickup truck, a motorcycle, and five mobile phones from the suspects arrested in Thung Song district in Nakhon Si Thammarat, governor Apinan Phuekphong said at a press conference on Saturday.

The arrests came after an investigation into allegations that the four were part of a major drug network in the South. According to provincial police chief Pol Maj Gen Somchai Suetortrakul, they smuggled methamphetamine from the north to sell in southern provinces.

Initially, police arrested two people — Somyos Jaidee, 57, and Supiwa Ratsupha, 20 — and seized 20,000 speed pills from them in Thung Song district’s tambon Khuan Kuad. Itthiphat Aksornthai, 20, was arrested in tambon Na Maiphai after a follow-up investigation.

Mr. Surachate Phetmatsri, 33, was apprehended and five sacks containing 1.18 million speed pills were discovered hidden under cabbage bags in his pickup truck.

Meanwhile, around 7 p.m. on Friday, soldiers manning a checkpoint in Chiang Mai noticed a suspicious pickup truck parked about 100 meters away from a checkpoint on the Fang-Mae Suai Road in Fang district.

The soldiers searched the vehicle as it approached the checkpoint but found nothing illegal inside. However, after the pickup had left, they inspected the area where the vehicle had been parked and discovered two sacks containing 300,000 speed pills.