Chiang Mai smugglers dump 2 million speed pills in jungle

Soldiers found 15 rucksacks hiding 2.3 million speed pills

Puntid Tantivangphaisal18 hours agoLast Updated: Thursday, May 29, 2025

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Chiang Mai smugglers dump 2 million speed pills in jungle — Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

Drug traffickers ditched over 2 million meth pills in a jungle in Chiang Mai’s Chiang Dao district, fleeing into the shadows as army patrols closed in — in what’s being called one of the largest single hauls of the year.

The Pha Muang Task Force confirmed the staggering seizure today, May 29, after troops encountered a group of about 10 men moving suspiciously along a well-known smuggling route near the Myanmar border.

At around 5pm on Tuesday, May 27, the patrol spotted the group hauling large modified rucksacks between Kae Noi village in Muang Na and Mae Ja Nua in Thung Luang Khao.

“We signalled them to stop for a search,” said Colonel Maitree Srisantia, the task force’s chief of staff. “But they fled into the forest, using the dense terrain and fading daylight to escape.”

Left behind were 15 rucksacks, packed with illicit cargo. Inside, soldiers found eight bags containing 200,000 pills each, and another seven bags holding 100,000 pills each — a jaw-dropping total of 2.3 million meth tablets, commonly known as speed pills.

The stash was later handed over to Chiang Dao police for legal processing. According to army estimates, had the pills made it to Bangkok’s streets, they could have fetched more than 25.4 billion baht.

This latest bust highlights the ongoing battle against drug smuggling in northern Thailand, particularly across porous border regions exploited by transnational criminal networks.

Since October 1 last year, the Pha Muang Task Force has launched 272 anti-drug operations, leading to 291 arrests and the seizure of:

Over 110 million meth pills
145kg of heroin
8,062kg of crystal meth
22.1kg of opium
695kg of ketamine

The fight has been far from bloodless. Task force soldiers have engaged in 39 armed clashes with traffickers in the past eight months alone, resulting in 15 drug runners killed, reported Bangkok Post.

Police vow to keep up pressure on smuggling routes in the North, warning traffickers that the army is watching — and ready.

Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Originally from Hong Kong, Puntid moved to Bangkok in 2020 to pursue further studies in translation. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Hong Kong. Puntid spent 8 years living in Manchester, UK. Before joining The Thaiger, Puntid has been a freelance translator for 2 years. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and listening to music, as well as writing short fiction and poetry.