1 million meth pills recovered after shootout with drug gang in Chiang Rai
Suspects escape into forest at night after exchanging fire
Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force seized around 1 million methamphetamine pills near Ban Pha Taek, Mae Sai sistrict of Chiang Rai province on Friday.
The operation followed a confrontation on Thursday night at 11.10pm, when soldiers patrolling the area, tasked with preventing drug trafficking, spotted 2-3 suspicious individuals near the edge of the forest. As the soldiers approached to search them, the suspects opened fire with unknown weapons, resulting in a five-minute shootout.
The suspects fled into the forest once the gunfire subsided.
Due to the risks of pursuing them at night, soldiers secured the area until morning for a detailed search. Upon inspection, they discovered five backpacks, each containing 200,000 methamphetamine pills branded with the logo of English football club Manchester United, totalling 1 million pills.
Colonel Meechai Nilsat, deputy commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said the traffickers were likely waiting to hand over the drugs for smuggling deeper into the country. The authorities are ramping up border security to prevent the influx of drugs from reaching inner regions.
The Pha Muang Task Force, under the Royal Thai Army, is responsible for securing Thailand's northern border, covering 24 districts across six provinces: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Uttaradit, and Phitsanulok. The total length of the monitored border is 933 kilometres.
