CHUMPHON — A man has been arrested with 2.3 million methamphetamine pills with an estimated street value of 400 million baht on a highway in Muang district.
National police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang said at a press conference on Wednesday that highway police set up a checkpoint on Highway No.4 (Phetkasem) between kilometre markers 479 and 480 on Tuesday, acting on information that a big consignment of drugs would be delivered in a pickup truck using that route.
Police found two vehicles, a Chevrolet Captiva and a Toyota Hilux Vigo which were regarded as suspicious and signalled the drivers to stop.
The Chevrolet driver, who police believe was providing protection for the Toyota in which the meth was hidden, sped away and escaped arrest. Witthaya Sopa, 47, who was driving the pickup, tried to evade the checkpoint but police blocked him with a patrol vehicle.
A search found almost 2.4 million speed pills hidden in secret compartments underneath the pickup and inside a specially-modified tailgate.
Mr Witthaya said he was hired by a drug gang via telephone to drive the drug-laden pickup from Chumphon’s Tha Sae district to Lang Suan district for 10,000 baht.
Pol Gen Somyot complimented the officers for the drug bust and after the briefing, he awarded them with cash as a gesture of moral support.