Police seize missiles destined for drug army

CHIANG MAI (AFP): Thai police today seized two surface-to-air missiles and a launcher allegedly destined for the largest Burma-based drug-trafficking organization, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), officers said this morning. Two Thai men arrested in Chiang Mai province allegedly told police they had bought the Russian-made SAM-7 missiles from Cambodian soldiers in the eastern Thai border town of Aranyaprathet. They paid 300,000 baht for the missiles and planned to hand them to the UWSA in exchange for ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets worth between 600,000 and 700,000 baht, police said. Police said they also found 200 ya bah pills at the men’s apartment in Chiang Mai.