PATHUM THANI - Police on Wednesday arrested three men from Chiang Rai after finding 62 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, that had been hidden in an impounded car in the police evidence compound, Pathum Thani police chief Smith Mukdasanit said.
Pol Maj Gen Smith said the drugs have an estimated street value of 200 million baht.
He named the three men as Jasue Jalae, 33, Janu Ja-ue, 39, and Chatree Preechamitrakul, 25.
Pol Maj Gen Smith said a pickup truck belonging to one of the suspects previously hit a motorcycle on Oct 5 in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district.
The suspect fled and abandoned his pickup truck after the accident. Police impounded the vehicle without realising it was carrying 62kg of crystal meth.
On Tuesday night, three men surreptitiously entered the police evidence yard where the vehicle was being kept in an attempt to retrieve the drugs, but disturbed a dog that began barking loudly. The men hid the drugs, wrapped in five plastic bags, in nearby bushes and fled empty handed.
Police examined surveillance camera footage and identified the three drug suspects.
About 4am Wednesday, the three men returned to the place where they had stashed the crystal meth and were arrested by police hiding in wait for them.
Photos by Pongpat Wongyala
