Joint Patrol Seizes 84,000 Meth Pills on Thai-Laos Border
A joint patrol by wildlife sanctuary officials, Border Patrol Police, and local administration arrested a 47-year-old man smuggling 84,000 methamphetamine pills across the Thai-Laos border in Ubon Ratchathani. The suspect was caught in the Bunthrik-Yod Mon Wildlife Sanctuary forest area with the drugs hidden in his backpack. He faces charges for drug possession and illegal entry into a protected wildlife sanctuary.
On November 9, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchat Chomklin revealed that officials from the Bunthrik-Yod Mon Wildlife Sanctuary, joined by Border Patrol Police (Thahan Phran) and district administration officers, conducted intensive patrols along the Thai-Laos border. They apprehended a 47-year-old Ubon Ratchathani man in the forest area of Huai Kha subdistrict, Bunthrik district, and seized 84,000 methamphetamine pills concealed in his backpack.
Minister Suchat praised and thanked officers from all agencies for performing their duties with determination, sacrifice, and effective coordination. He emphasized that proactive patrols in protected forest areas not only safeguard forests and natural resources but also serve as a crucial mechanism for monitoring, intercepting, and disrupting illegal activities, particularly drug smuggling along the border, which threatens public safety and national security.
Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Director-General Yongyut Nakwiroj disclosed that the Conservation Area Management Office 9 (Ubon Ratchathani), led by Director Manit Wiriya-phan, reported that around 9:00 AM, officers from the Bunthrik-Yod Mon Wildlife Sanctuary's Huai Sapung Forest Protection Unit, headed by Sanctuary Chief Wichian Chinwong, together with Border Patrol Police Company 225 and Bunthrik District administration, conducted patrols to prevent and suppress forest-related offenses while maintaining border security with the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
At approximately 9:30 AM, while officers were lying in wait along a trail inside the forest in Huai Kha subdistrict, they spotted a suspicious man carrying a backpack. Upon identifying themselves and searching him, they identified the suspect as Mr. Bualoi (surname withheld), 47, a resident of Bunthrik district, Ubon Ratchathani. The search uncovered 19 plastic bags containing a total of 84,000 Category 1 narcotic tablets (methamphetamine) along with one set of drug paraphernalia. Officers detained the suspect and seized the evidence, transferring him to investigators at Huai Kha Police Station for prosecution on charges of illegal possession of Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine) and unauthorized entry into a wildlife sanctuary under the Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will continue to support integrated operations among all agencies to ensure forest protection goes hand in hand with crime prevention and public safety along the border.
