Nine ‘drug couriers’ slain in gunfights
Nine armed drug courier suspects were killed and 700,000 methamphetamine pills seized in two standoffs during an anti-drug operation by security officers near the ThaiMyanmar border in Chiang Rai.
Eight of them were killed by military officers in the area late on Saturday night while the other was chased and gunned down in a forest by officers, provincial officials reported yesterday.
The dead are among 15 men who tried to smuggle the drugs into Thailand via Ban Phami, a remote village opposite Doi Sampi in Myanmar, according to an initial investigation. The group was believed to belong to a Lahu hill tribe group.
Thai authorities had been aware of their movements, so soldiers were deployed to an area near the village in tambon Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, about two kilometres from the border, to intercept drug trafficking.
The group of 15 men was spotted and ordered to stop.
However, they reportedly resisted the order and opened fire at the soldiers, which led to a gunfight that lasted more than five minutes.
An inspection, led by Chiang Rai governor Col Thongchai Mianan yesterday, found the first eight bodies of the suspects. The men had been carrying six bags containing about 600,000 speed pills.
Two M16 assault rifles and an AK47 rifle were also found next to their bodies.
During the inspection, Col Thongchai was informed the remaining suspect was killed in another gunfight with officers in a nearby forest.
Another bag of about 100,000 methamphetamine pills was found on the suspect.
A closer look at the drugs found their packages had “Y1” and “999” inscribed on them. The evidence and an intelligence report led investigators to the conclusion that the drugs most likely belong to a Lahu group led by a major drug suspect identified only as Cha-ngoi.
According to an initial investigation, his group had influence in Doi Samsung, and Ban Punako, a village in the southern area of Myanmar’s Shan State. The village lies opposite Chiang Rai’s Mae Fa Luang district.
The investigators believe couriers carry drugs along a path linked with the Golden Triangle, an area notorious for drug production, located upstream of the Mekong River. It is a mountainous area shared by Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.
Ban Punako is among 10 areas in Myanmar suspected of being used to make drugs. According to media reports, half of these areas are in Ban Mao, Ban Hopang, Ban Pang Woei and Ban Tangyan in northern Shan State.
Another four are in Ban La in northern Shan State, Ban Namchan in western Shan State, Ban Tha in southern Shan State and an area of the Khun Nam Ruak drug ring, which is opposite Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.
Thailand has so far worked with Myanmar, China and countries in the mainland Southeast Asia under the Safe Mekong Joint Operation, part of the governments’ efforts to crack down on drug trafficking in the region.
Past operations by this multi-national cooperation include the confiscation of 21.3 tonnes of drug precursors believed to be used to produce 250 million methamphetamine pills in Myanmar.