CHIANG RAI: Police found 120 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden in secret compartments under the floor of an abandoned van after it sped through a checkpoint on a local road in Mae Sai district in the early hours of Friday.
The driver was caught shorty afterwards.
Mae Sai border patrol police and drug suppression officers manning a road checkpoint at Sanpuloei village in tambon Ban Dai spotted a Toyota van with Bangkok licence plates approaching them about 12.20am on Friday.
They signaled the driver to stop for a search, but he instead drove through the checkpoint. They gave chase and found the van stopped about 500 metres down the road. The driver had fled into the night but was later tracked down and arrested.
A search of the van found three secret compartments in the floor. Inside them were 120 packages labeled as tea. Each contained 1kg of crystal meth.
The driver, whose name was not released, was taken to the 327th Border Patrol Police Unit for questioning and legal action.
Pol Lt Col Paduangkiat Panthornthanaka, commander of the border patrol police unit, had ordered the checkpoint set up on a local road because drug smugglers had recently been using them to avoid police stops on main roads.
The secret compartments in the van used to hide 120kg of crystal methamphetamine. (Photo by Mae Sai police station Facebook page)