Border Patrol Seizes One Million Meth Pills Near Chiang Mai
Border Patrol Unit 335 arrested two suspects after a three‑day stakeout and seized over one million yaba pills hidden in a pickup truck near Chiang Mai. The operation, based on a tip, intercepted a drug‑smuggling group attempting to move narcotics from the Chiang Dao–Mae Tang border area into the city. The suspects and the drugs were turned over to Chiang Dao police for prosecution.
Border Patrol Unit 335 coordinated with Chiang Dao police and local authorities to set up an ambush after receiving intelligence that a drug‑trafficking group planned to move narcotics from the Chiang Dao–Mae Tang border area into Chiang Mai city using footpaths and natural routes to bypass the integrated checkpoint at Ban Kaeng Pun Tao. From 16 October, a team led by Lieutenant Colonel Veeravut Ta‑kaeuyang, commander of Border Patrol Company 335, concealed itself in the forest near Ban Huay Yamarit, Village 3, Ban Pao sub‑district, Mae Tang district, Chiang Mai province. In the early hours of 19 October, the joint patrol—comprising Border Patrol officers, Chiang Dao police, and administrative staff—spotted a suspicious pickup truck parked in the wildlife‑sanctuary forest near Ban Mueang Ngai Nuea, Mueang Ngai sub‑district, Chiang Dao district, with two men nearby. When officers identified themselves, the suspects attempted to flee but were detained. A search of the truck revealed ten black plastic bags containing a total of 1,012,000 methamphetamine tablets. The suspects and the seized drugs were handed over to the Chiang Dao police station for further legal action.
