Drug-trafficker killed
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Authorities yesterday engaged in a gunfight with drug traffickers on boats sailing down the Mekong River, apparently killing one before seizing 950,000 methamphetamine tablets.
No details about arrests were available. The boats were identified as Yu Xing 8 Hao and Hua Ping – both registered in China.
A source said a joint team of officials had followed these two suspicious boats after they entered Thai territory via the Golden Triangle.
“These boats suddenly accelerated when they came around to Chiang Rai’s Chiang Saen district. Maybe because they noticed by then that someone was following them,” the source said.
Speedboats were launched to flag down the suspicious boats but the drug traders on the vessels responded by opening fire.
When the hail of bullets stopped, one man was found dead on Yu Xing 8 Hao, along with an assault rifle and the illicit drugs.
The source said Maj-General Prakarn Chonlayut, chief of the Phamuang Force, received a tip-off about the use of boats for yaba smuggling via the Mekong River and instructed the team of police, soldiers and administrative officials to watch out for them.
Meanwhile, Suchat Wong-ananchai, director-general of the Corrections Department, said surprise searches at 32 prisons uncovered 78 cellphones, 756 yaba tablets, 52 tubes of crystal meth and 800 modified weapons and gambling gear.
“These are prohibited items. Prison wardens and officials have already been instructed to solve the problem or else they will be punished,” he said.
