Police Intercept Drug Gang in Chiang Mai Standoff

Bangkok: Police intercepted a drug trafficking gang, arresting one person and issuing arrest warrants for four others. A tense standoff ensued as police from Region 5 attempted to intercept a drug trafficking gang, blocking their path from both ends. However, the suspects fought back fiercely, attempting to break through the cordon. Officers fired at the tires to stop them and pursued them in a high-speed chase. Ultimately, one suspect, a mother with a young child, was apprehended, while the remaining four are being pursued.According to Thai News Agency, the moment police in Region 5 intercepted a vehicle smuggling narcotics in Mae On district, Chiang Mai province, officers pursued and blocked the vehicle before getting out to make arrests. However, the suspects attempted to flee, forcing officers to fire several shots at the tires.In this case, Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphol Yisakhon, Commander of Provincial Police Region 5, led a press conference along with the Governor of Chiang Mai and the Narc otics Suppression Bureau Region 5. He stated that Provincial Police Region 5 had previously received intelligence about drug smuggling from the Chiang Rai border into Chiang Mai. A roadblock was set up at the Chiang Rai-Chiang Mai border, but the suspects changed routes, using a secondary road into Mae On District. Officers pursued the suspects, using their vehicles to block the front and rear of their four-door pickup truck. The suspects drove through the barricade, forcing officers to fire several shots at the tires. Still not satisfied, the suspects continued driving but soon jumped out of the vehicle, crashing it into a tree in a plant nursery. All five occupants fled into the nursery. Officers managed to arrest only one suspect, Ms. Wa, a 26-year-old mother with a child, who was hiding in a worker's residence, along with seized gold jewelry. The suspect was found to be wearing 30 baht weight of drugs, along with 300,000 baht in cash. Eight sacks of methamphetamine pills, totaling 2,449,800 pills, were al so found in the vehicle. Arrest warrants have been issued for the other four suspects who escaped, and they are currently being pursued.The commander of Provincial Police Region 5 also revealed that this year, Provincial Police Region 5 has arrested 27,345 drug cases, seizing 420 million methamphetamine pills, 10,350 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 105 kilograms of heroin, 1,300 kilograms of ketamine, and 410 kilograms of opium, along with assets worth 1.58 billion baht.