Authorities in Trat have seized 100 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine that was found washed ashore on two beaches in the eastern province this week.
The discovery capped a busy week for anti-drug enforcement activities, and followed the arrest of two major drug suspects and the seizure of 5.5 million speed pills in Ayutthaya.
In Trat, 19 packs of crystal meth or “ice” were found on Koh Mak beach and another 20 packs on Koh Kut beach on Tuesday, according to Niyom Termsrisuk, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
On Thursday, another 61 packs were found on Koh Kut. Each pack weighed about one kilogramme. All of the packs were waterproof, said Mr Niyom.
The Region 2 office of the ONCB is now working with narcotics suppression police and the Royal Thai Navy to find out where the drugs were from. It was suspected that they might have been thrown into the sea during a smuggling operation or awaiting transport.
Mr Niyom has urged local residents who spot suspicious packages floating ashore to alert local police and the ONCB. Cash rewards would be given to those who provided clues, he said.
In Ayutthaya, meanwhile, police arrested a man and a woman at a rented house in tambon Chiang Rak Noi of Bang Pa-in district during a drug raid. Inside the house they found 17 sacks containing about 5.5 million speed pills, Pol Lt Gen Chinnaphat Sarasin, chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), said on Friday.
Lerdmongkhol Boondee, 27, and Somwang Jitchan, 51, both of Bang Pa-in, have been charged with having illicit drugs with intention to sell. Also seized from them were a mobile phone and a car.
The arrests followed an investigation that began when narcotics suppression police caught three drug suspects in separate raids in Nakhon Pathom and Ayutthaya last year.
The trio confessed to having bought the drugs from Mr Lerdmongkhol, said Pol Lt Gen Chinnaphat.
The NSB chief said police would extend the investigation to arrest others suspected of involvement and look into the money trail of the gang. Their assets would also be seized, he added.