Police arrest Sukhothai hospital driver as November 2–3 raids yield 1,359 meth pills
A nursing assistant in Sukhothai faces possible dismissal after a positive drug test, while a suspected drug supplier escaped arrest.
- A driver for a public hospital in Sukhothai was arrested during a drug operation conducted on November 2–3.
- The raids yielded a total of 1,359 methamphetamine pills, with 252 seized directly from the arrested driver at the hospital and his home.
- The driver was identified following a tip-off from a hospital porter who admitted to drug use and provided information to authorities.
- The operation was part of a larger crackdown that implicated a total of seven people, including two other hospital employees.
A driver employed by a public hospital in Sukhothai was arrested during a drug operation that began late on November 2 and continued into November 3, 2026, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Officers seized 1,359 methamphetamine pills, known as yaba, across the operation.
Seven people were implicated in suspected drug activity: three employees of the Sukhothai hospital and four people outside it, the ONCB reported.
Hospital porter’s information leads to driver’s arrest
A tip-off through the 1386 hotline prompted the ONCB’s Region 6 office to investigate a hospital porter in Sukhothai’s Mueang district. The porter admitted using drugs, volunteered for rehabilitation and provided information about a suspected major dealer at the same hospital, leading to a driver’s arrest, the agency reported.
Officers seized 230 methamphetamine pills when they arrested a driver at the Sukhothai hospital, according to the ONCB. After briefing senior hospital managers, officers searched the driver’s home and found another 22 pills, bringing the total recovered in connection with the employee to 252.
The ONCB’s Region 6 office carried out the Sukhothai drug operation with the provincial anti-drug operations centre, Sukhothai Provincial Police, local administrative officials, the investigation division of Provincial Police Region 6 and the Internal Security Operations Command.
Suspected supplier flees, leaving 957 pills
A suspected supplier ran from officers during an attempted arrest and abandoned 957 methamphetamine pills and a mobile phone, the ONCB reported. Officers subsequently filed a complaint with investigators at Si Samrong Police Station to seek an arrest warrant for the fugitive.
An associate of the fugitive drugs suspect was also arrested in Sukhothai, with a further 150 methamphetamine pills seized during the cordon operation, according to the ONCB.
Sukhothai nursing assistant ordered into rehabilitation
A female nursing assistant at the Sukhothai hospital tested positive for drugs in a urine screening, according to the ONCB. The hospital director ordered an immediate three-month rehabilitation programme and was preparing to consider dismissing the employee from government service.
Two acquaintances of the Sukhothai nursing assistant were arrested after driving into the area of the operation, on charges of driving with drugs in their systems, the ONCB reported.
ONCB campaign targets public officials involved in drugs
The Sukhothai investigation was the 29th operation under the ONCB’s “Cutting Out the Rot” campaign against drug involvement among public officials. It forms part of the Justice Ministry’s six-month “war on drugs” action plan and follows government policy and directives from Police Major Suriya Singhakamol, secretary-general of the ONCB.
The ONCB’s campaign against drug involvement among public officials aims to create drug-free institutions, restore public confidence and eliminate drug problems across all sectors. The Sukhothai operation implements the third measure of the six-month plan, requiring firm action against government personnel involved in drugs, regardless of position or employing agency.
