CHIANG MAI– Police and soldiers teamed up late at night to intercept a pickup truck thought to be carrying drugs. The truck, registered in Lamphun and fitted with a steel cage, sped through Chiang Dao towards Chiang Mai.
When the driver spotted the checkpoint, he turned around and tried to escape. The driver soon abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, leaving behind 25 sacks of crystal meth, weighing over 500 kilos. Officers went straight to the registered owner’s home but could not find him.
Soldiers from the Phadong unit, along with officers from the 2nd Division of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, border patrol police, and local police, had received a tip-off about drug trafficking in the area. They set up a checkpoint at the Mae Ja intersection in the Chiang Dao district.
At around 11:30 pm on 8 May, the team spotted a single-cab Toyota pickup with a Lamphun number plate. The truck matched the description they had been given. Spotting the police, the driver made a U-turn and sped off towards Wiang Haeng.
Officers chased the vehicle for about three kilometres before it was abandoned by the roadside. The driver escaped into the darkness, taking advantage of the rough terrain and poor visibility.
A search of the pickup revealed 25 large sacks, each weighing about 20 kilos. All up, there was around 500 kilos of crystal meth inside.
At about 1:30 am on 9 May, officers visited the home of Thanachit, 26, the registered owner of the truck, in Chiang Dao. They did not find him there. His wife said she did not know where he was and that he had not come home. The officers searched the house but found nothing illegal.
Police have taken the seized drugs to their Chiang Mai office for further investigation. They are now working to track down everyone involved.
