Two men were killed and four others arrested on Sunday in a gunfight with police, who seized two million speed pills and 50kg of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, worth a combined 650 million baht in Chiang Rai.
The shootout took place about 4pm on the Chiang Rai-Thoeng Road in Chiang Rai's Thoeng district.
Narcotics suppression police acting on a tip off stopped a septic tank truck they suspected of carrying drugs from the Thai-Myanmar border for a search. Men in a pickup truck escorting the septic tank truck opened fire at the police.
Police said the gunfight lasted several minutes.
The dead were later identified as Kaptan Wadeesukkasem, 28, and Thawee Techalertphana, 55, both Hmong men.
A hilltribe drug trafficker was also shot dead in a fight with soldiers in Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang district yesterday morning.
The clash took place about 5am when Pha Muang Taskforce troops were patrolling in the forest between Ban Sa Lap and Ban Na Dua villages.
When the soldiers tried to stop two motorcycles for a search, suspecting they may be carrying drugs, one of the pillion riders opened fire. The soldiers fired back.
One man was hit by several bullets and was killed. The others fled.