CHIANG RAI: More than 2 million speed pills and 11kg of crystal methamphetamine have been seized from a pickup truck abandoned by two men following a chase by police officers and soldiers in Mae Chan district.
Police and Pamaung task force soldiers spotted a pickup truck with Chiang Mai licence plates travelling along the old Doi Tung route from Mae Fa Lung border district of Chiang Rai province on Tuesday night. The vehicle had been under surveillance, and officers gave chase.
At Wat Phrathat Saengkham in Mae Chan district of Chiang Rai, two men jumped out of the truck and fled into a nearby forest, leaving the vehicle in front of the temple, Thai media reported on Wednesday.
The chase team inspected the vehicle and found 14 fertiliser sacks containing 2.2 million speed pills and 11kg of crystal methamphetamine.
A member of the team said soldiers from the Pamuang task force first noticed the pickup truck parked along a road on Samakhi-Huai San Klao Road in Mae Chan district on June 10. Driver Jasor Noonuko was taken for questioning because he was acting suspiciously, the team member said, but was later freed as no illegal items were found in his vehicle.
Narcotics suppression police told the task force the pickup truck might be linked to a drug gang.
Authorities then kept the vehicle under surveillance, leading to the drug haul, according to Thai media reports.