The Pha Muang Task Force in Chiang Rai has seized 5 million meth tablets and arrested 2 members of a large drug caravan in the Chiang Khong district on Tuesday.
Rangers from the Pha Muang Task Force and the navy’s Mekong Riverine Unit caught them overnight. This is after authorities learned a large shipment of drugs was to be smuggled across the border into Chiang Khong.
The men were spotted walking with sacks strapped to their backs near Kaeng Kai, an island in the middle of the river in Tambon Wiang, Chiang Khong district.
When they were ordered to stop for a search, they dropped their bags and fled. They were pursued, and two men have been arrested.
Patrol members examined the abandoned sacks and found each one contained 200,000 methamphetamine pills – 5 million pills in total.
Two suspects and drugs seized by the team were turned over to the police station in Chiang Khong.
Meth Tablets Seized in Bangkok
Meanwhile, Police are seeking arrest warrants for two more men and a woman suspected of smuggling 2.25 million meth tablets into Bangkok.
Police have already arrested two men trying to smuggle the drugs, found hidden in an ambulance.
Two men were riding in a pickup truck that led an ambulance loaded with meth tablets. The pickup truck and the ambulance were then abandoned in Bangkok.
The owners of the ambulance fled in a pickup truck driven by another gang member.
Investigators were gathering evidence in order to apply for court approval to arrest the fleeing suspects.
The investigation revealed that the gang had smuggled illicit drugs from the Northeast to the Central Plains on several occasions. They were paid between 150,000 and 300,000 baht per delivery.
The two used the ambulance to pick up the meth tablets in northeastern Thailand and brought them to Bangkok.
An investigation was being conducted to find the mastermind behind the drug smuggling.