NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: A man was arrested with 300kg of crystal methamphetamine hidden under rubber sheeting and coconuts on his pickup truck in Chulabhorn district on Wednesday - the largest-ever seizure of crystal meth in this southern province.
Police stopped and searched a pickup truck carrying rubber sheeting on Asia 41 Road in tambon Sam Tambon. Under baskets of coconuts on top of a tarpaulin, officers found 300 packs of crystal methamphetamine, each containing 1kg, or 300kg in total.
Driver Khorlae Muelee, 37, of Chanae district in Narathiwat, was detained for questioning.
During the interrogation, Mr Khorlae reportedly confessed to having smuggled the drugs from Malaysia en route to a customer in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
He told police that another vehicle had been driving ahead of his pickup truck to scout for police checkpoints. However, the suspect said, the driver of the first vehicle sped off when seeing police, leaving him to face the consequences.
Pol Col Nikhom Polprasit, border patrol police deputy chief, said the seizure followed information that a drug gang was planning to smuggle large quantities of crystal methamphetamine to a major dealer in this southern province. It was the largest-ever seizure of the drug in Nakhon Si Thammarat, he said.
Police planned to widen the investigation to find others involved in the smuggling operation.