Street dog uncovers stash of Yaba pills in eastern Thailand

Locals rang the police when a street dog they call “Namtan” (brown sugar) ran down the street with a packet of over 1,000 Yaba (methamphetamine) pills in her mouth inthe Sattahip district of Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand on Thursday, reports NaewNa.

The “soi dog” ripped apart and chewed the packet, which contained seven smaller packets with 1,160 pills of “crazy drug” inside – a Category 1 illicit narcotic in Thailand.

Residents chased the dog around and picked up all the drugs to hand over to officers from Phlu Ta Lueang Police Station.

It’s not clear whether Namtan ingested any of the stimulants but she was not reported to have displayed any adverse symptoms. Although, she does look very pleased with her discovery in photos taken by the police.

Soi dogs are known for their strong immune systems, after all, they can survive on the hot streets of Thailand on their own.

Police don’t know where the drugs came from but suspect that some drug dealers tossed the bag into the woods when they saw the police, which was later sniffed out by Namtan. The homeless dog could be a useful addition to the force in Thailand’s losing battle against methamphetamine.

In December, a Thai man’s pet beagle discovered a human corpse in the undergrowth while on an evening walk in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand.

Two beagles from Thailand’s Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit help to fight crime at Suvarnabhumi Airport by detecting illegal movement of live wildlife and animal carcasses.

Last month, the beagles sniffed out 7 kilogrammes of illegally imported raw duck from China. In November, the dogs found illegal “smoked bats,” smoked pork knuckles and smoked pork belly that arrived in Thailand on a flight from Kunming in China.

Smuggling animal carcasses into Thailand is a criminal offence under Section 31 of the Animal Epidemic Act (2015).