Police Halt Drug Smuggler After High-Speed Chase and Crash
Police apprehended a Yala man after he rammed a police vehicle and crashed while transporting 3.2 million methamphetamine pills through Lampang on September 22. Officers seized the drugs, pickup truck, and phone following a tip about the la
On September 22, Lampang provincial governor Wiwat Intrathaiwong, along with Phumi Pannya Nawatrakun, commander of Lampang Provincial Police, and Rangsiman Songkherakham, deputy commander of Region 3 Border Patrol Police, ordered the arrest of a 34-year-old man from Yala province. Officers from multiple task forces apprehended the suspect and seized methamphetamine pills classified as a Category 1 narcotic, totaling 3.2 million pills packed in 15 boxes, a covered pickup truck with Bangkok license plates, and a Samsung mobile phone.
The arrest followed a tip on September 20 from an informant about a large-scale drug shipment being transported in a white pickup truck from Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai, through Wang Nuea District, Lampang, heading toward Phayao. Officers coordinated with Region 3 task forces and rapid-response units to set up checkpoints along the suspected route. They spotted the target vehicle at a traffic light intersection in Mae Khachan District, Chiang Rai, before it entered Wang Nuea District in Lampang. When officers signaled for inspection at a three-way intersection in Wang Nuea, the driver accelerated and attempted to ram the police vehicle to escape.
Officers pursued the truck closely until it lost control and overturned along the Wang Nuea-Phayao road at kilometer markers 37-38 in Tambon Wangtong, Wang Nuea District, Lampang. The vehicle was severely damaged and immobilized. Police immediately took the suspect into custody. Authorities have transferred the suspect and all seized items to Wang Nuea Police Station for legal proceedings and further investigation into his network.
