About three million methamphetamine pills, as well as 360 kilogrammes of crystal meth, were seized in three separate operations along the Thai border with Myanmar and Laos, according to authorities yesterday.
The first operation took place in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district. According to Col Anuwat Panyanantharom, commander of a special task force based in Mae Fah Luang district, the operation was initiated after authorities received a tip-off from local informants that a group of smugglers would be attempting to cross through a remote border crossing near Ban Mae Mo.
The military deployed a unit to patrol the area. Around 1am on Tuesday, soldiers spotted a group of 4-5 men attempting to cross the border with Myanmar. When asked to identify themselves, the men opened fire at the soldiers, prompting a firefight which lasted about 10 minutes.
No soldiers were harmed in the incident, but the suspected smugglers managed to evade capture. Three more units were deployed to secure the area and find the smugglers, but the men are believed to have slipped back into Myanmar, using their knowledge of the area.
A search of the area found four modified sacks, each containing about 200,000 methamphetamine pills. The sacks were seized as evidence and were brought to Mae Fah Luang police station to be processed.
On the same day at 2.40am, officers from Mae Sai police station in the same province were alerted about a suspicious delivery request by a courier in tambon Wiang Pang Kham.
The suspects, wearing masks and hats to obscure their identities, wanted the courier to send two parcels, police said. The first was addressed to a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat, while the second was bound for Chumphon. Authorities found a total of 108,000 methamphetamine pills inside the packages.
Following the discovery, the police managed to track the suspects, identified only as Kornkanok and Asanai.
The officers intercepted them and found an additional 90,000 methamphetamine pills in two more parcels. Further investigation led to the arrest of two more suspects, identified only as Wasin and Nuanlaor, at a house in Mae Sai district.
The suspects revealed that they had picked up the drugs at a longan orchard near the Wat Huai Nam Rin on the Thai-Myanmar border. They also admitted to consuming methamphetamine during the operation.
All of the suspects were charged with drug trafficking and illegal possession of controlled substances, police said, before vowing to continue their crackdown on drug trafficking networks operating along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Separately, Lt Gen Boonsin Phadklang, Commander of the Second Army Region, announced the seizure of more than 2.1 million methamphetamine pills and 360kg of crystal methamphetamine in multiple raids across the northeastern provinces of Loei and Nakhon Phanom, which border Laos, on Sunday.
The joint efforts of military, police, and border patrol teams led to the arrest of three suspects, while others managed to escape.
He called on the public to assist authorities by providing further information to combat drug smuggling.
