Thai forces seize 130,000 meth pills after clash with traffickers

A fierce clash between Thai forces and a drug trafficking gang led to the seizure of over 130,000 methamphetamine pills. The confrontation occurred at 9.40am yesterday, August 6, near the Khao Hua Lon passage in Ban Nong Tao, Mon Pin Subdistrict, Fang District, Chiang Mai Province.

The Pha Dam Command, under the Chaiyanuphap Task Force, was conducting a patrol to prevent and intercept drug smuggling activities. They had received a tip-off from an informant about a drug trafficking group planning to smuggle drugs from a neighbouring country into Thailand.

A patrol unit was dispatched to the Khao Hua Lon passage in Ban Nong Tao. They identified two to three suspicious individuals carrying backpacks and walking through the terrain. When the officers attempted to search them, the suspects opened fire with unidentified firearms, resulting in a five-minute gunfight.

After the situation calmed down, the patrol team confirmed that none of their members were injured. They secured the area and found a modified backpack containing 130,000 methamphetamine pills.

At 3.30pm, Veerachai Phongkaew, Commander of the Chaiyanuphap Task Force, assigned Jirajamnong Kosawang, Deputy Commander of Chaiyanuphap Task Force (2), to welcome Maitree Srisantia, Chief of Staff of the Pha Muang Task Force, along with Pithaya Tawongrat, Commander of Company 4, and other officials from various agencies, including the Border Patrol Police Company 334, Fang Police Station, and local security forces. They arrived to inspect the scene of the incident, reported KhaoSod.

The seized drugs were handed over to investigators at Fang Police Station for further legal proceedings.

In related news, police arrested a South Korean man in Pattaya for transnational drug trafficking after finding him smuggling drugs from Thailand to South Korea.

The South Korean drug control division recently arrested Thai and South Korean drug smugglers at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, seizing 600 grammes of ketamine during the process.