Three men arrested with 250kg crystal meth haul in house raid
Three suspected drug traffickers were arrested in a van raid with 250 kilogrammes of crystal meth in Thailand.
Suthep, 43, Ekkachai, 35, and Yutthaphong, 35, were allegedly preparing to distribute the drugs to customers across Bangkok when officers raided the property in Nonthaburi on October 16.
Footage shows cops chasing the suspects through a grassy field, where they were arrested after stumbling in the tall grass.
Officers seized from the scene more than 250kg of crystal methamphetamine worth 28 million baht, three vehicles, five mobile phones and 115,000 baht in cash.
Police said they had been investigating the group suspected of using a van to transport drugs around the capital, with a house in Sai Noi district serving as a storage and distribution point.
The raid followed a tip-off from an informant that the suspects were preparing to move a large shipment to customers.
When a suspicious vehicle arrived, officers moved in to search the premises and found the crystal meth concealed in 11 sacks inside a van.
Police said one of the suspects, Suthep, had a previous conviction for possessing an unregistered firearm, while Ekachai and Yuttapong had criminal records involving drug possession and distribution.
They have been charged with jointly distributing Category 1 narcotics for commercial purposes and taken into custody for legal proceedings.
Police Colonel Thanakorn Onthongkham, deputy commander of the Patrol and Special Operation Division, said all three suspects allegedly confessed to the charges.
He added: 'This batch of narcotics is suspected to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country across the northeastern border near the Mekong River.
‘They used areas surrounding Bangkok for stashing before transporting the drugs to Greater Bangkok.
‘This operation represents an expansion of two previous cases.
‘The suspects confessed that they were on their way to deliver the drugs.
‘They were awaiting instructions from their boss regarding the final destination and admitted to having made similar deliveries previously.
‘Financial transactions are currently under investigation.'
The operation was carried out by the 191 Special Patrol and Operations Division, military intelligence and the Metropolitan Police Bureau as part of Thailand's crackdown on drug trafficking.
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.
