PATTANI - A man driving a car with 178,000 methamphetamine pills, or ya ba, worth an estimated street value of 35.6 million baht, in the boot was arrested at a check point in Nong Chik district, police said on Thursday.
Pattani police show the 178,000 methamphetamine pills seized in the southern province on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2014. (Photo by Maluding Deeto)
Abdul-lor Lor Ma-sae, 30, was pulled over while driving a black Chevrolet sedan on Tuesday. Officers found and seized the illicit drugs, which were inside a hidden compartment in the vehicle, and two mobile phones.
Yongyuth Charoenwanich, commissioner of the Southern Border Provinces Operations Centre, said the arrest followed a drug bust back in October 2013 where three men were arrested with 39,600 ya ba pills.
Police later discovered that the men were in contact with Mr Abdul. They also found out that Mr Abdul-lor was on his way back from a drug hand-off in Bangkok and successfully tracked him down.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Mr Abdul-lor is allegedly part of a drug network run by Bae-ma 'Bang Kwang' who is in Bang Kwang prison in Nonthaburi province, said Pol Lt Gen Yongyuth.
Police charged Mr Abdul-lor with conspiracy to possess illegal drugs and took him into custody for further questioning.