Troops under the Thai 3rd Army have seized a massive haul of drugs that were smuggled via the Thai-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand on the evening of May 18.
An official from border task force confirmed that the drug haul was seized while the soldiers were inspecting the vehicles at a checkpoint on the road between Doi Luang and Wiang Chiang Rung districts in Chiang Rai District.
“While [the smuggler] was smuggling [the drugs] from the Thai-Myanmar border, he drove away when he saw Thai military officials manning the checkpoint. The vehicle fell in a roadside ditch. The ditch was only 350 meters from the checkpoint. A total of 7.8 million methamphetamine pills and 50 kilos of ‘ice’ or crystal methamphetamine have been seized,” he said in the Thai language.
The seizure was made near Ban Pha Village in tambon Dong Mahwan of Wiang Chiang Rung District at 9:45 pm.
During a press conference held in Chiang Rai at 10 am on May 19, the Thai military officials said the soldiers found 39 fertilizer sacks containing 7.8 million methamphetamine pills and 50 kilos of ‘ice’ or crystal methamphetamine inside the vehicle.
According to them, the drugs have been smuggled from Mong Ton area in Myanmar and the smuggler has fled.
Thailand has been doing a crackdown against drugs in Chiang Rai District since before the Thingyan Water Festival in April and massive drug hauls from the neighboring country have been seized within 50 days, according to an official from the Thai Narcotics Suppression Bureau.
The Thai Narcotics Suppression Bureau seized 5 million methamphetamine pills and 70 kilos of opium near Wieng Pa Pao District in Chiang Rai Province on May 14 while they were being smuggled from Myanmar to Thailand.
