Troops seize 40kg of ketamine at Thai-Myanmar border

Troops seized 40kg of ketamine at the Thai-Myanmar border.

Officers were patrolling woodland along the border when they found two suspicious individuals carrying white sacks along the Sai River in Chiang Rai on Monday evening, August 16.

Soldiers ordered the pair to stop for a search, but they suddenly panicked and dropped the sacks. The two managed to flee across the river to Myanmar under cover of darkness.

Officers later coordinated with relevant agencies to inspect both sacks, which were found to contain 40 bags of white crystals believed to be illegal drugs.

Tests later confirmed the substance was ketamine, weighing around 40kg (88lbs) in total.

Major General Sathit Waiyanon, chief of the Pha Muang task force assigned to intercept border smuggling, said: ‘The seized evidence was handed over to the inquiry officer at Mae Sai Police Station for further legal action.'

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.