Driver escapes as police find 240kg of crystal meth

2026-02-10 - 05:16

CHIANG RAI — Police seized more than 240 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine after a pickup truck fled a checkpoint and was abandoned in a village in Mae Sai district early on 10 February 2026. At about 01:30, Chiang Rai provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Manop Senakul led officers in seizing 240.1 kilograms of the category of the category 1 narcotic, and one pickup truck, police said. Mae Sai police had received intelligence that a drug trafficking group was smuggling narcotics from the Thai-Myanmar border into the interior, using a secondary route branching off Phahonyothin Road towards Nam Cham–Nong O village in Pong Pha subdistrict. Officers set up an interception and later spotted a grey Toyota Hilux Revo pickup with Chiang Rai registration travelling along the reported route. When the vehicle reached Nam Cham village, Moo 5, officers signalled it to stop. The driver accelerated through the blockade and fled. Police gave chase and followed closely. While still within the village, the driver stopped the vehicle, abandoned it in the middle of the road and escaped on foot, using knowledge of the area and darkness to evade arrest. A search of the pickup found seven fertiliser sacks containing a total of 240.1 kilograms of ice. Officers also recovered a copy of the vehicle manual, vehicle sale documents, one mobile phone, receipts and other paperwork, which will be used to expand the investigation and track down suspects, police said.