High-Speed Drug Run Ends in Crash; 202,000 Pills Seized
Police arrested two men and seized 202,000 methamphetamine pills after a high-speed chase ended in a crash near Udon Thani on September 4. A related operation the next day netted 80,000 additional pills as authorities investigate a larger s
Police arrested two men and seized 202,000 methamphetamine pills after a dramatic high-speed chase on September 4 near Udon Thani. Officers had set up a checkpoint on Route 2 between Udon Thani and Nong Khai around 00:30–01:00 when a sedan suddenly broke through and fled. During pursuit, the vehicle lost control, hit an electrical pole and a house wall, and came to rest with its rear tires blown out. The two suspects attempted to flee on foot but were apprehended by officers.
The arrested men, both from Sakon Nakhon province, admitted to being hired couriers to collect methamphetamine from Sakon Nakhon and deliver it to customers in Nam Som district, Udon Thani, for a fee of 40,000 baht. They claimed this was their first time undertaking such work and that they were hired by a Laotian contact.
In a related operation on September 5, officers working with local administrators at a checkpoint on the Ban Phuea–Udon Thani route arrested another suspect with 20,000 pills, and subsequent searches recovered an additional 60,000 pills from that case, bringing the total to 80,000. Combined with the September 4 seizure, police recovered 282,000 methamphetamine pills between September 4 and 5. Authorities are expanding investigations to identify and track the network behind the smuggling operation and plan to announce results formally on Friday.
