Major Drug Dealer Arrested With Methamphetamine, Guns
Police arrested a major drug dealer in Roi-Et Province who was smuggling hundreds of thousands of methamphetamine tablets from Laos and distributing them across the region, seizing nearly 58,000 pills, firearms, and over one million baht in
On September 15, 2569, Region 4 Provincial Police launched a sweep operation against major drug agents. Officers from special task force units Marautsorn 691 and Thosrot 491, along with the Kasetwitthaya District Administration under the command of Colonel Nattha Moengputhit, conducted a raid on a target residence in Nong Phra Bang area, Kumphaeng Subdistrict, Kasetwitthaya District, Roi-Et Province as part of the Roi-Et Sandbox project. Intelligence gathered from drug users and dealers in Roi-Et indicated the suspect was a major trafficker and methamphetamine distribution agent who was skilled at evading police and operated at a command level. The suspect was armed with firearms and possessed expertise in weapons, carrying guns at all times and maintaining a fortified safe house serving as a regional depot for an international drug network.
Officers planned a high-security perimeter operation. Upon the raid, two suspects were found at the house appearing alarmed before being apprehended: a 24-year-old male named Kla and a 22-year-old female named Maai.
Under intense interrogation, Kla confessed and admitted to additional large quantities of drugs and weapons hidden by burying them at five separate locations around the property. Officers escorted the suspect to five excavation points and seized assets totaling over one million baht.
Confiscated items included 57,934 methamphetamine tablets, 3.8 grams of ice (crystal methamphetamine), a 9mm semi-automatic handgun (MC brand), a .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber pistol with 46 rounds of ammunition, 80,300 baht in cash, two gold necklaces weighing one baht each, one car, two motorcycles, and four mobile phones.
During interrogation, Kla confessed to ordering drugs in batches of hundreds of thousands of tablets worth over one million baht from a Lao capital source, then smuggling and distributing them to teenage groups in Kasetwitthaya and neighboring districts in Roi-Et. Distribution occurred two to three times monthly.
Initial charges filed include joint trafficking in methamphetamine with intent to sell, joint unlicensed possession of firearms and ammunition, and methamphetamine use. Police have arrested over ten additional network members with further investigation ongoing. Kla and evidence were transferred to Dong Khrung Yai Police Station for legal proceedings.
