Swoop by troops and police in Chiang Rai leads to Bt1.7m in drugs seized

Acting on a tip-off, the officials found the drugs on a Toyota pick-up truck with Bangkok licence plates at the Thai Charoen Co compound in Tambon Muang Yai at 10.30pm. The drugs, said to be worth Bt1.7 million in street value, were found during a search of the vehicle. No arrests have yet been made.
In Bangkok, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda told a press conference about separate drug busts carried out at various provinces between March 25 and April 1. 
Chakthip said police had apprehended 11 suspects in 11 drug busts, which saw officers seize a total of 1,783,263 methamphetamine pills, 703 kilograms of “ice”, 1,380 kilograms of marijuana, 1,471 grams of cocaine, 90 ecstasy pills, and 0.6 gram of ketamine. These drugs were said to be worth Bt890 million on the streets. Officers seized assets worth Bt4.9 million from suspects, including a six-wheel truck, nine cars, four guns with ammunition, 11 mobile phones and Bt87,220 cash. 
Chakthip said Thai authorities were continuously cracking down on drug trafficking and had received cooperation from neighbouring countries, including Myanmar and Laos. He said gangs usually moved drugs from the North and Northeast through the Central region during holidays. 
Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) commissioner Pol Lt-General Sommai Kongwisaisuk said many cases saw illicit drugs smuggled from a neighbouring country such as Laos. Various methods were used to avoid detection, including via cross-border trekking groups of armed men, or chicken or cow carcasses stuffed with drugs.
He said a single “yaba” (methamphetamine) pill worth Bt1 in a neighbouring country could fetch Bt200 in Thailand, and Bt500 in a third country. One kilogram of “ice” worth Bt1 million could fetch 1,000 times that price in a third country, he claimed.
Sommai cited the Monday-night case in which 703 kilograms of “ice” was seized as an indication of the non-stop production of narcotics. He said the drugs were mostly smuggled from a neighbouring country through Thailand’s North, Northeastern, Central and Southern regions to reach Malaysia, which was a hub for further distribution to other countries such as Australia and South Korea.