Teen caught with meth worth 19 million baht at Mekong River
Officials intercept major drug bust as smuggler attempts river crossing
A 17 year old was caught transporting methamphetamine worth 19 million baht on behalf of a Lao drug gang. The teenager was apprehended while waiting to receive the narcotics, which were being transported by boat across the Mekong River to the Thai side yesterday, May 5.
Rear Admiral Narong Emdee, commander of the Mekong Riverine Unit, along with his team, received a tip-off about an impending drug smuggling operation from Laos into Thailand. The operation was to take place near the banks of the Mekong River at Ban Bung Suai, Mueang subdistrict, Khong Chiam district, Ubon Ratchathani province.
In response, the head of the Khong Chiam Station intelligence unit, security forces, and local administration were dispatched to patrol the area.
While on patrol, they observed a white pickup truck parked by the riverbank. Simultaneously, a long-tail boat from Laos approached and docked at the designated meeting point. Three people from the pickup truck then proceeded to carry fertiliser sacks from the boat, which subsequently returned to Laos.
The officials intervened, prompting the three people to abandon the sacks and flee in different directions. However, they were all eventually apprehended.
One of the detainees was identified as Watchara, while the other two were 17 year olds. All three suspects are residents of Chuen Chom district, Maha Sarakham province.
Upon inspecting the green fertiliser sacks, officials discovered 640,000 orange methamphetamine pills, bearing the WY stamp, classified as a type 1 narcotic. The drugs are valued at over 19 million baht (US$577,080).
The suspects confessed to transporting the methamphetamine on behalf of a Lao drug syndicate for 50,000 baht (US$1,520). Their task was to deliver the narcotics to drug dealers operating in the inner areas of the upper northeastern region of Thailand.
In similar news, on April 22, the Surasak Montri Task Force, working alongside soldiers, border patrol police, and administrative officers, confiscated 300,000 methamphetamine tablets during the discovery of a drug trafficking operation originating from a neighbouring country.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
