Over 1.5m meth pills seized in clash with drug runners 

SOLDIERS patrolling a jungle along the Thai-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai province late last night (Nov. 15) clashed with drug traffickers who fled after dumping some homemade backpacks filled with around 1.56 million methamphetamine pills,  Naewna newspaper said today (Nov. 16).

Col. Suthikhet Srininthin, commander of Pha Muang Task Force’s drug control unit, sent a team of soldiers to patrol the jungle at Mae Salong Nai subdistrict, Mae Fah Luang district, and they ran into eight to nine suspects who had walked deep into Thai territory from the neighbouring country.

The soldiers called on the suspects to stop for a search but as they were armed they opened fire in order to escape with the clash lasting five minutes. The soldiers then guarded the area and waited for reinforcements to arrive in the morning.

Found scattered at the scene of the clash were 12 backpacks holding around 1.56 million meth pills. They were packed in bags stamped with 999 and a blue crown logo with Y1 written across some bundles.

It is believed that the drug traffickers had fled in different directions after the clash and while some might have crossed the border back to Myanmar others are believed to still be hiding in Thailand. The Pha Muang Task Force is coordinating with Mae Fah Luang police station in chasing them.

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The scene of the clash with drug traffickers last night (Oct. 15) with homemade backpacks filled with meth pills left behind. Photos: Naewna

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