Police in Phan District of Chiang Rai arrested two men and seized 2 million methamphetamine pills and approximately 2 kg of crystal methamphetamine.
Officers from the Phan Police Station in Chiang Rai Province reported to CTN News that two male suspects were stopped at the Pu Kaeng checkpoint on Phahon Yothin Road in Phan District. They were in an Isuzu pickup truck with Nakhon Si Thammarat license plates, driving toward Phayao Province.
The driver, Mr. Net, 24, is from Phatthalung Province. His passenger, Mr. Somsak, 25, is from Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.
The truck’s bed inspection revealed 10 sacks covered with a rough red blanket. When officers removed the blankets and opened the bags, they found approximately 200,000 methamphetamine pills per bag, totaling 2 million pills, along with about 2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in plastic bags.
The suspects were taken to the Phan Police Station, where an initial investigation revealed that a drug trafficking gang hired them to transport the drugs from the Chiang Rai border to the South in exchange for 200,000 baht each.
Phan Police said they have expanded the investigation with narcotics suppression police to locate the drug gang that hired the two men.
Heroin Seized in Mae Sai Chiang Rai
On Wednesday, soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force seized over 120 kg of heroin from a group of drug runners trying to cross into Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, in the middle of the night.
Major Gen. Kittakorn Chanthra, Commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, told reporters that a patrol was sent to monitor the border area along the Ruak River on the Thai-Myanmar border in the Koh Chang sub-district, Mae Sai District of Chiang Rai.
At around 1:30 a.m., while inspecting the Sri Pa Daeng Village, Village 9, Koh Chang Subdistrict area, the troops encountered a group of approximately 5-10 men carrying modified backpacks wrapped in black plastic bags as they entered Thailand.
The soldiers ordered the group to stop, but the men opened fire while trying to escape. The Pha Muang Task Force returned fire, resulting in a firefight that lasted about 5 minutes. All Pha Muang Task Force soldiers were uninjured.
At sunrise, soldiers discovered six rainbow-colored sacks containing heroin bars stamped with a lion stepping on a globe. Each sack held 60 bars, totaling approximately 360 bars of heroin, weighing about 126 kilograms.
Major Gen. Kittakorn stated that the drugs belonged to a minority network in a neighboring country and were likely meant to be transported through Thailand to a third country.
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Chiang Rai Police Uncover Heroin Stash in Lychee Orchard
Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
