Chiang mai: Border Patrol officers intercepted a vehicle transporting a large shipment of 5.2 million methamphetamine pills. Border Patrol Police have busted a large drug trafficking network seizing 5.2 million methamphetamine pills. The smugglers used secondary routes to evade checkpoints and attempt to smuggle the drugs into inner areas, but they were caught by authorities. One suspect was arrested for acting as a motorcycle escort and checking for checkpoints.
According to Thai News Agency, Border Patrol Police Unit 335 surrounded a drug trafficking network near the entrance to Pong Saen Thong village, Chom Chaeng subdistrict, Mae Taeng district, Chiang Mai province, after receiving a report that a drug gang would be using a four-door pickup truck to smuggle drugs. The route was from Wiang Haeng district, through Muang Khong, Chiang Dao district, and then via secondary roads through Mae Taeng district. Officers spread out to surround the area. In the early morning of July 4th, a suspicious pickup truck matching the description was spotted entering a public road in Pong Saen Thong village. Officers pursued the vehicle, but the driver, realizing he was being watched, abandoned the vehicle and escaped under the cover of darkness.
Upon inspecting the black tarpaulin-covered pickup truck, officers found 23 rectangular sacks wrapped in black bags in the truck bed and in the passenger compartment. The seized items totaled 5.2 million methamphetamine pills, bearing the stamps 999 and Y-1. Additionally, one suspect, who was acting as a lookout on a motorcycle, was apprehended and taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 3 headquarters in Mae Taeng for questioning, along with all the seized items.
The commander of Border Patrol Police Region 3 provided information that the network was attempting to smuggle narcotics into inner areas. This time, they picked up the drugs from Wiang Haeng District, loaded them like regular goods, and used secondary routes for transportation.
The driver acting as a guide stated that his job was to lead the way and check checkpoints from the viewpoint into the Mae Taeng area, for which he received 5,000 baht as payment. He was accompanied by another person, each on a separate motorcycle. When his friend saw the officers, he fled on his motorcycle and alerted the drug trafficking vehicle, which then fled into the forest. This drug shipment is considered a large one, indicating a drug network was transporting drugs into the inner areas. Initially, they were charged under the Narcotics Act and taken to Mae Taeng Police Station for further legal proceedings.