Five arrested in dramatic SUV raid smuggling 284kg of meth
Five alleged drug traffickers were arrested with 284 kilograms of crystal meth in northern Thailand.
The suspects were transporting a large shipment of drugs from northeastern Thailand to central Thailand when police intercepted their cars in the early hours of October 18.
Officers chased an Isuzu MU-X SUV carrying the drugs through northbound Phahonyothin Road towards Nakhon Sawan province at around 4:54 am local time.
Dramatic footage shows cops converging on the vehicle and slamming the doors and windows as they demanded the suspects emerge.
Officers stopped the SUV near the Phayuha Khiri district. A search found 284 plastic bags containing 284kg of crystal meth worth more than 90 million baht.
Two men inside the SUV were arrested, while three others were travelling ahead in a pickup truck, allegedly acting as scouts to monitor the route and check for police checkpoints.
The three alleged scouts were also intercepted and arrested. Police seized five mobile phones during the operation.
The arrests followed an earlier drug bust by the Provincial Police Region 1 in the area last March.
Police Lieutenant General Naradech Thiprak, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, said all five suspects allegedly confessed during initial questioning.
He said: 'We charged them with jointly distributing Category 1 narcotics by possessing them for distribution for commercial purposes.
‘They were handed over to an inquiry officer at Phayuhakhiri Police Station for legal proceedings.
‘Following this, we will coordinate with relevant agencies to expand the investigation and seize assets under money laundering laws, whilst accelerating efforts to track down the mastermind, who has an active arrest warrant and is hiding abroad, to bring them to justice.'
Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug use, 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.
