Opposition Leader Visits Border Area, Hails Drug Seizure Record
Opposition leader Natthapon Ruengpanyadwit visited Thailand's border with Myanmar in Chiang Mai to inspect drug interdiction operations, where authorities highlighted a recent seizure of 300 kilograms of methamphetamine and ongoing efforts
On August 21 at Mae Aiy District in Chiang Mai, Natthapon Ruengpanyadwit, a party-list Member of Parliament and leader of the opposition Democratic Party, led a delegation to inspect frontline operations and hear briefings on drug trafficking along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The afternoon visit began with inspections and morale-boosting at drug checkpoint and interception points in Mae Aiy, followed by coordination meetings with security and relevant government agencies. At 2 p.m., the delegation visited Ban Pa Kui village in Ta Ton Subdistrict, Mae Aiy District, to observe conditions along the actual border and hear updates on illegal cross-border smuggling routes.
Colonel Kitti Najai, commander of the Third Army Region Border Ranger Control Force, outlined the service's three-pronged approach to narcotics interdiction: first, intelligence sharing with partner agencies outside Thailand; second, ranger patrols and surveillance along border areas under their responsibility; and third, coordinated operations with all relevant agencies in interior border areas, including checkpoint operations, search cordons, and logistics interdiction.
Kitti explained that the unit's territory spans both land and water borders, including the Sai and Ruak rivers and the Mekong River facing Laos, as well as mountainous terrain inland from Wiangkaen District. Smugglers exploit natural passages and dry-season river crossings. During high water season, they use boats from neighboring countries to dock at private landing points before handing the contraband to distribution networks.
Colonel Maitri Srisant, deputy commander of the ranger force, recounted a recent confrontation with a drug trafficking gang in which forces seized 300 kilograms of methamphetamine—a Category 1 narcotic—and forwarded the case to Mae Aiy Police for prosecution.
When asked whether the area was formerly under a major trafficker's control and what has changed over the past decade, Maitri reported that while traffickers still operate from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai border zones, smuggling routes have shifted in recent years.
