Crystal meth worth B300m found in lorry
Tip-off in Chiang Rai leads to major bust
Authorities seized more than 300 kilogrammes of crystal meth, or ya ice, from a lorry in Chiang Rai’s Khun Tan district early yesterday morning.
It is considered a major arrest as the confiscated crystal meth was said to have a street value in excess of 300 million baht.
Acting on a tip-off, soldiers and police officers hid along the side of the Chiang Khong-Thoeng road from late in the night.
The road is located in Ban Mai Pattana of tambon Yang Hom close to the entrance of Phaya Pitak forest park.
As the lorry and a car passed the spot at around 3am, the officers emerged and asked them to pull over.
Officers found 14 fertiliser sacks on the lorry containing 343 packages of tea leaves in which the ya ice had been hidden.
Police arrested the lorry driver, who was later identified as 46-year-old Sunthon Darat, a resident of Khon Kaen.
Some passengers in both the lorry and car were also apprehended. They were Yeusa Sae-Chong, 32, from Chiang Rai; Di Sae-Chong, 30, from Phayao; Pisit Patanahiran, a 25-year-old Phayao resident; Chonsorn Sae-wang, 26, from Nan; Panas Sae-wong, 20, from Nan; and a 15-year-old boy.
They were taken to Khun Tan police station for further investigation, the officers said.
Based on a preliminary probe, the drug was likely to have been smuggled into the country through Thai-Laos border areas between the Wiang Kaen and Chiang Khong districts of Chiang Rai. The districts are separated from Laos by the Mekong River.
Drug smugglers were believed to have brought the drug in through these areas to avoid checkpoints along Phahon Yothin Road between Mae Sai and Mae Chan districts, a key route for traffickers.
The probe will be expanded to net more of the gang responsible, officers said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon visited Ubon Ratchathani yesterday to follow up on efforts to thwart the illicit businesses in the province.
Ubon Ratchathani is in the lower Northeast, which is a key gateway for trade between Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said Gen Prawit urged officers to remain vigilant for crossborder drug smuggling.
Gen Prawit said it was important to reduce crime levels, suppress nefarious actors who wield influence in the region, stem the trafficking of war weapons and stop local people from being extorted, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.
Gen Prawit instructed the officers to make continued efforts to clamp down on drug traffickers as the use of recreational narcotics is believed to be growing in urban areas.
Officers should also attach importance to tackling loan shark operators in their areas and expedite efforts to apprehend them, the spokesman said, quoting Gen Prawit.
Any capitalists found to have swindled or extorted people must also be dealt with, Gen Prawit noted. Farmers who lost their land to these unscrupulous lenders must be assisted in getting it back while mechanisms must be put in place to boost their job skills, he added.