Chiang Rai meth bust sees 1.8 million pills confiscated

In a gripping crackdown on drug trafficking, authorities in Chiang Rai province have netted 1.8 million meth pills and assets valued at 10 million baht, with the arrest of 10 suspected couriers in three major drug busts.

At a Pukaeng Road checkpoint in Phan district, police officers intercepted a suspicious pickup truck sporting Bangkok licence plates. Their suspicions were well-founded as a search uncovered a staggering 200,000 speed pills concealed within the vehicle.

According to Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphon Yisakhorn, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 5, the driver, identified as Sutthiphong, confessed to his role in the smuggling operation. Sutthiphong, a 29 year old native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, revealed he had been hired to transport the illicit cargo from Chiang Rai’s Mae Yao district to a drug agent down south.

In another daring raid, a police patrol from Chiang Rai’s Mueang station intercepted a car bearing Bangkok licence plates at a checkpoint in Robwiang subdistrict. Inside the vehicle, they uncovered a staggering stash of 600,000 meth pills. The driver, known only as Suthin, a 29 year old local, admitted to being part of the drug smuggling operation. Suthin confessed to ferrying the narcotics from Wae Yao subdistrict in Mueang district to another courier waiting at Lan Mueang market.

Furthermore, a combined team of local police and officers from relevant agencies spotted four suspicious pickup trucks attempting to dodge road checkpoints in Therd Thai of Mae Fa Luang district. Pursuing the suspects, they managed to intercept the vehicles at Doi Lan subdistrict in Mueang district. A thorough search revealed secret compartments in the pickup trucks, each containing over 200,000 pills, culminating in a total seizure of 1 million pills. Eight individuals were promptly apprehended, reported Bangkok Post.

As investigations unfold, authorities have expanded their probe, uncovering assets worth approximately 10 million baht allegedly linked to the suspects involved in the three major drug trafficking cases.