Major Drug Bust Nets 528 Kg of Ice in Chaiyaphum
Police seized 528 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth over 50 million baht from a drug trafficking operation in Chaiyaphum, arresting five suspects from Udon Thani province hired to transport the drugs to Ayutthaya.
On August 3, 2025, Dech Senaakham, district chief of Muang Chaiyaphum, coordinated a joint operation involving local administrative security forces, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau's central division, and Ban Khai police to investigate an area in Ban Don Khwang subdistrict. The authorities had been tipped off by local officials and narcotics officers that a drug trafficking operation was transporting narcotics from Tha Li district in Loei province headed toward Wang Noi district in Ayutthaya province.
The search uncovered a white Nissan X-Trail carrying 18 Chinese tea sacks concealing crystal methamphetamine—approximately 528 kilograms total, with each sack containing 30 one-kilogram bags. The haul is valued at more than 50 million baht. Officers immediately apprehended three suspects who were driving the lead vehicle. Two additional suspects abandoned their transport truck and fled into the Don Khwang area, but after an intensive search, authorities cornered and arrested both while they were hiding in a sugarcane plantation.
Under questioning, all five suspects—all from Udon Thani province—admitted they had been hired to transport the drugs for 500,000 baht. Authorities charged them with importing and distributing Category 1 narcotics. The suspects and seized materials have been transferred to the Narcotics Suppression Bureau for formal prosecution, and the investigation is continuing to identify and pursue other members of the trafficking network.
The operation was coordinated under the direction of Anon Naknaiyom, Chaiyaphum provincial governor; Thongchai Olarapattanachay, deputy governor; Worasit Putcheep, provincial secretary; and Dech Senaakham, district chief of Muang Chaiyaphum.
