Udon thani: Border Patrol officers arrested a man driving a pickup truck carrying over 2.8 million methamphetamine pills. A young man driving a speeding pickup truck fled for his life but was ultimately apprehended by border patrol police along with a large shipment of over 2.8 million methamphetamine pills. Meanwhile, in Chiang Rai, police at a checkpoint noticed a pickup truck parked in a dark corner, refusing to stop, raising suspicion. Upon inspection, they discovered 1.6 million methamphetamine pills.
According to Thai News Agency, the video shows Border Patrol officers in a close pursuit of a black four-door Ford sedan with Udon Thani license plates, driven by Mr. Tewan, who was transporting over 2,800,000 methamphetamine pills on a main road leading to Udon Thani province. Upon reaching a traffic light intersection in Phangkone District, officers attempted to identify themselves and conduct a search, but the driver accelerated and fled towards Wanorn Niwas District. Ultimately, officers decided to intercept the vehicle, causing it to swerve and come to a stop on the roadside. This operation was a follow-up to the seizure of 4.4 million methamphetamine pills in Nakhon Phanom Province in March, which confirmed that Mr. Thewan was a member of a drug trafficking network smuggling narcotics into Thailand's interior.
During the arrest, Mr. Tewan was panicked and resisted. A search of the pickup truck revealed numerous black plastic sacks packed tightly inside the cabin. These contained 1,416 bundles of methamphetamine pills, totaling 2,832,000 pills. The officers seized the drugs along with two mobile phones before handing Mr. Tewan over to the Wanorn Niwas Police Station for legal proceedings. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the trafficking network.
In a related incident, Chiang Rai City Police Station set up a checkpoint on Wiang Burapha Road in front of the Chiang Rai Provincial Volunteer Defense Corps headquarters. They spotted a black pickup truck parked in a dark corner, refusing to approach the checkpoint. Upon inspection, they found Mr. Paiboon driving and two passengers, Ms. Kanchana and Ms. Nam-oi. A search of the truck bed, which was covered with a plastic tarp, revealed seven sacks containing approximately 1,640,000 methamphetamine pills.
Initially, the suspect confessed to being hired to transport the items from Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province, to Phayao Province, claiming he was unaware they were drugs. Authorities then detained the suspect and seized the evidence, handing them over to investigators for prosecution. They are also working to apprehend the remaining members of the network.