The driver of a cold-storage truck was arrested after a hidden compartment containing about 3.9 million methamphetamine pills was found in his vehicle in Lampang province on Sunday.
Police in Lampang’s Ko Kha, Sop Prap, Thoen and Mae Phrik districts were alerted on Sunday morning to set up checkpoints to stop a pickup truck that failed to stop at a checkpoint in tambon Thung Ngam of Soem Ngam district. It was suspected the truck was carrying illegal goods.
The cold-storage truck was later stopped in tambon Mae Pu of Mae Phrik district. The vehicle was x-rayed, which revealed suspicious goods inside a modified partition. A search found 3.896 million methamphetamne pills, or ya ba, inside it.
The 64-year-old driver, Worapong Ruechajirakit, was arrested and the drugs, vehicle and two mobile phones seized as evidence. He was charged with possessing illegal drugs for distribution.
Police said the methampetamine was destined for Nakhon Pathom province.
The drug suppression bureau had earlier been informed a large shipment of drugs was to be moved using a cold storage truck, so checkpoints were set up on secondary roads in northern provinces, where traffickers now try to avoid the main roads.