Truck with 4.2 million meth pills shot at police, killing one

In Chaing Mai, police attempting to pull over a pickup truck suspected of carrying drugs were met with gunfire that killed one officer. The shootout took place last night in the Fang district of Chiang Mai when a police team attempted to stop and search the pickup that was believed to be transporting a large drug shipment.

A Fang district police inspector, Pol Maj Phibulphan Sukhumanon, led his squad in the attempted inspection of the truck at a road checkpoint, but the people in the pickup opened fire on the police using automatic weapons.

Police chased after the truck which sped off after spraying gunfire at the police, but Phibulphan was hit in the legs and chest. A rescue unit arrived shortly after to take the police officer who had been shot back to Fang district. He was pronounced dead not long after leaving the scene of the crime.

The pursuing officers did manage to chase down the fleeing vehicle and the drivers and passengers abandoned the truck shortly after firing at police officers and racing away. It was left in a nearby village and the drivers and passengers were not apprehended.

The police’s suspicions proved correct through, as when backup police arrived and searched the pickup truck, they uncovered about 4.2 million meth pills. The pills were divided into 21 knapsacks and police seized the drugs.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World