Millions of meth pills seized in Chiang Rai car chase

A DRAMATIC car chase in Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang district led to the seizure of 4.3 methamphetamine pills early this morning (April 4) while the suspects managed to flee into the jungle after a shootout, Naewna newspaper said.

Upon receiving a tipoff that a large drug shipment would be passing this district, a Border Patrol Police team together with a unit from Pha Muang Task Force and district officials set up a roadblock to intercept any suspicious vehicles.

At 7.30 a.m.the officers spotted a silver pickup truck with Chiang Rai licence plate driving at unusually high speed near Ban Sam Yaek. They identified themselves and requested a search, but the driver accelerated and fled towards Ban Lao Sip, Mae Salong Nok subdistrict.

The officers closely pursued the vehicle but it lost control at a narrow, bumpy road leading to rice paddies, causing it to overturn. The drug smugglers then fired six shots at the team to clear a path before escaping by using their knowledge of the dense forest terrain.

A search of the overturned vehicle revealed 20 sacks, each containing approximately 200,000 meth pills, for a total of around 4,300,000 pills. The seized drug was handed over to the Mae Fah Luang police station for legal proceedings.

Investigation is being expanded to apprehend the drug traffickers who had fled.

CAPTION:

The overturned pickup truck full of sacks of meth pills. Photos – Naewna