Highway Police Nab Drug Smugglers Over 100km Chase
Highway Police in Chumphon chased down a drug smuggling network over 100 kilometres and arrested three suspects carrying 612,000 methamphetamine tablets, including a former dismissed officer who scouted routes and reported checkpoint locati
Highway Police in Chumphon launched a dramatic 100-kilometre chase and arrested a drug trafficking network attempting to smuggle methamphetamine tablets south, involving a former dismissed officer who was scouting routes and reporting checkpoint locations.
On 18 September 2025, senior police officers ordered a specialized highway unit to intercept the drug network. Officers arrested three suspects: a stateless 28-year-old driver, a 43-year-old scout, and a 28-year-old guide. They recovered three sacks containing 612,000 methamphetamine tablets, a Toyota Revo pickup and a Toyota Fortuner, both registered in Kanchanaburi, and four mobile phones.
The case began on 17 September when Chumphon Highway Police received intelligence of a planned drug shipment heading to Surat Thani province. Officers spotted two suspicious vehicles—a Fortuner leading a Revo pickup at a consistent 2-kilometre interval, suggesting the Fortuner was a route scout vehicle.
When officers signalled the pickup to stop, the driver fled. Highway Police pursued for over 100 kilometres from Tha Sae to Lang Suan district in Chumphon. The pickup lost control and collided with a truck at kilometre 20.2 on the Asian Highway, unable to continue. The arrested driver, a stateless 28-year-old, confessed to accepting 20,000 baht per trip to transport drugs. He said the two scouts—Vorawut and Phitaksa—surveyed the route and reported checkpoint locations; this was his second such trip.
A separate team pursued and arrested the Fortuner at kilometre 6 on the Asian Highway in Muang district. The driver was Phitaksa, and passenger Vorawut, a former police officer dismissed for drug-related misconduct, admitted to scouting routes and relaying checkpoint information for the driver who was delivering drugs to a customer in Surat Thani.
Police charged all three with Class 1 drug distribution (methamphetamine) for commercial purposes, an offence affecting public security and national stability. They are in custody at Lang Suan Police Station pending legal proceedings.
