Three arrested in high-speed chase trafficking 3.86 million meth pills
Three suspects were arrested as police seized 3.86 million meth pills in separate drug busts in Thailand.
Border Patrol Police Region 2 officers captured the alleged drug runners during raids in Maha Sarakham and Nakhon Phanom, on June 27.
The first operation began after police learned a Ford pickup truck was being used to transport a large shipment of methamphetamine through Maha Sarakham.
At around 9:25 am local time, officers located the vehicle matching the intel and asked to search it.
But the driver allegedly sped away, ramming a police vehicle while trying to escape.
Footage showed the pickup spewing black smoke as it weaved through traffic before turning into a dimly lit street, where it later crashed into a power pole.
Officers moved in for a search and found five sacks containing around 2.02 million meth pills inside the pickup. They arrested two women, Sunaree, 36, and Sawinee, 32.
The second operation was launched on the same day, following a tip-off that another meth shipment would be moved from Bueng Kan to central Thailand.
Police tracked the suspect's vehicle to a PTT petrol station in Nakhon Phanom at around 3 pm, before following it onto a village road.
When officers ordered the driver Jeerasak, 26, to stop, he allegedly tried to flee.
The suspected trafficker reportedly rammed a police vehicle but was caught when the impact disabled his car.
Jeerasak was detained, and five sacks containing 1.844 million meth pills were recovered from the vehicle.
Police said all three were charged with possessing Category 1 narcotics with intent to distribute for sale. They reportedly admitted they had been hired by a Lao boss to collect the drugs.
The women said they were promised 20,000 baht to move the narcotics to a customer in Saraburi, allegedly admitting they had completed two similar drug runs before their arrest.
While Jeerasak claimed he was hired by a Lao individual to deliver the drugs from Nakhon Phanom to Mukdahan for 10,000 baht.
Police Major General Wutthipong Yenchit, Commander of Border Patrol Police Region 2, said the three suspects were taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 2 headquarters in Khon Kaen for questioning.
The seized drugs were handed over to Chiang Yuen and That Phanom police stations for further legal proceedings.
Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug production and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.
Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.
However, cracking down on drug production has been complicated by the influx of crime gangs from China and the Burmese civil war, which has seen the army take over the country - along with control of lucrative drugs chains.
