Myanmar drug suspect killed, another arrested in Chiang Rai
One drug suspect was shot dead and another arrested as Thai troops and police exchanged gunfire with a group of Myanmar men allegedly trying to smuggle 2.1 million methamphetamine pills across the border in Chiang Rai province late Friday night.
The shootout happened at 10.30pm on a border road in Tambon Wieng Pang Kham in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.
Troops from the Pha Mueang Taskforce were manning the checkpoint with officers from the Mae Sai Police Station when they spotted a pickup driving from the Myanmar border.
The Thai authorities waved the pickup to stop but it tried to make a U-turn with gunfire coming from the vehicle.
The authorities reportedly fired back and spotted two men fleeing from the pickup. When the gunfire stopped, a man was found dead inside the pickup. The authorities captured another Myanmar man about 100 metres away.
The captured man said he and his friend were delivering the drug to another vehicle waiting on the Thai side.
The authorities seized 2.138 million meth pills in the pickup.
