Police have seized more than 11 million speed pills and other drugs in two major cases, with four suspected drug couriers arrested.
Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the national police chief, and senior police officers jointly announced the seizure of 11.6 million speed pills, 50 kilogrammes of ketamine, 2kg of crystal methamphetamine and 1.5 million baht worth of assets in the two drug cases.
In the first case, narcotics suppression police arrested two drug couriers – Tanuphat Anansiriphitak and Suebsak Sae Kue – who were among Hmong tribal men detained on Sing Buri-Lop Buri Road in tambon Tha Wung of Lop Buri province after three pickup trucks sped through a police checkpoint around 3.20am on Oct 6. The police team managed to intercept the vehicles in Lop Buri. One suspect managed to escape.
A search found 33 fertiliser sacks containing 6.5 million speed pills and 50 kilogrammes of ketamine inside green tea packages. The three pickup trucks, 3 mobile phones and 51,000 baht cash were seized.
During questioning, the two suspects told police that they and Kiartiphan Sae Song, who managed to flee, had been hired for 200,000 baht to smuggle illicit drugs from the upper North for delivery to a client in the central province of Saraburi.
Police have charged the duo with colluding in possession of illicit drugs with intent to sell.
The suspect at-large, Kiartiphan, was also wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Mae Sot provincial court on Aug 21, 2014 for murdering one of his parents.
In the second case, police arrested Leng Sae Mah in a roadside forest in tambon Mae Rim in Muang district of Tak late at night on Oct 9. Seized from his vehicle were 5.1 million speed pills and two kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine wrapped in green tea packages.
The suspect and other accomplices had used three vehicles to smuggle illicit drugs from Thoeng district of Chiang Mai for delivery to clients in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. The vehicles drove through barriers at a police checkpoint on the night of Oct 9. Only Mr Leng was later caught following a chase.
