SOLDIERS seized one million methamphetamine pills after a clash with drug traffickers in Chiang Rai province with the drug packed in bags stamped with Manchester United Football Club logo, Naewna newspaper said today (Sep. 6).
Col. Meechai Nilsat, deputy commander of Pha Muang task force, and Col. Nathee Thimsen, commander of Thap Chao Tak task force, inspected the drug at the spot they were seized in Wiang Phang Kham subdistrict, Mae Sai district, this morning.
This followed a clash at around 11.15 p.m. last night when a patrol unit from Thap Chao Tak task force spotted two to three suspicious people sitting at the edge of the forest.
They moved in to search them but were instead shot at leading to a clash that lasted approximately five minutes. After the gunfire stopped the drug traffickers fled into the forest.
The soldiers then surrounded this spot but did not chase the criminals because it was dark and dangerous to do so.
An inspection this morning found that the big lot of meth pills had been packed in five sacks with each holding 200,000 pills for a total of 1 million. Smaller bags within were stamped with Man Utd logo.
Col. Meechai said the drug runners were likely waiting for someone to collect the bags of meth pills and take them further inland.
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Top and Front Page: A bag with Manchester United Football Club logo stamped on it packed with meth pills.
Insert: The edge of the forest in Chiang Rai where the clash took place. Photos: Naewna
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