Cops bust drug smugglers in Sing Buri

Suspects used car to scout for checkpoints

Police yesterday arrested three drug trafficking suspects in Sing Buri province, confiscating 11.6 million methamphetamine pills and over 700 kilogrammes of crystal meth valued at 3 billion baht.

The suspects were identified as Chan Sawatdee, 47, a Rayong local and two Nan residents, Jaran Kanon, 43, and his wife Srikham Pinta, 38.

The trio were brought before the media at the Provincial Police Region 1 station.

Along with the drugs, authorities also impounded a Chiang Rai-registered Ford pickup truck, a 10-wheeled Hino lorry with a Phayao licence plate and three mobile phones that police believe will provide more clues about the syndicate.

The arrests occurred after police received a tip-off on Tuesday. The informant stated that a large consignment of drugs would be smuggled from the North to the Central region, deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan said at the press conference.

An informant later alerted officials that a narcotics trafficking ring would use the two vehicles on the route in the northern province of Phayao to transport the drugs.

Later on Thursday, Sing Buri police identified the vehicles and brought them back to Muang Sing Buri Provincial Police Station for a search which found 11.6 million methamphetamine pills, or ya ba, in 58 sacks and plastic bags containing more than 700kg of crystal meth mixed in with corn kernels in the back of the lorry.

According to officials, Mr Jaran was the lorry driver, accompanied by his wife, while Mr Chan drove the pickup truck.

The pickup truck was travelling ahead of the lorry and acting as a scout to identify upcoming police security checkpoints, police said.

Mr Chan would then inform the couple to pull over or stay overnight in the vehicle until the checkpoints were removed.

Officials said the trio had used this tactic to evade authorities several times in the past.

Mr Chan was to be paid 600,000 baht, while the couple in the lorry loaded with drugs were to receive 700,000 baht for the delivery.

Pol Gen Chalermkiat said the drugs were from the ethnic Wa drug syndicate.

The drugs were smuggled in and were to be kept at a hiding place near Bangkok before being transported to other provinces and foreign countries.

The deputy police chief said officials were now utilising X-ray machines at some checkpoints to detect this type of drug trafficking.

He said this arrest was the biggest drug seizure in areas supervised by the regional police.

In a separate case, 600,000 ya ba pills were seized in Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang district yesterday.

The seizure came after police tried to apprehend two men they had spotted riding motorcycles loaded with three sacks of the pills along the Ban Pang Ma HanBan Phaya Prai road in tambon Thoet Thai bordering Myanmar.

However, once they spotted police, the two riders dismounted and fled into a nearby forest.

An inspection later found each sack contained 200,000 ya ba tablets.

Police have said they will widen the search for the suspects.