MUKDAHAN: Customs officials seized 240 kilogrammes of dried marijuana after a car chase in Wan Yai district in the small hours on Tuesday.
The bust came after a tip from the customs office at Nong Khai that a quantity of marijuana smuggled across the Mekong river from Laos to Nong Khai would be transported southward along a road to Mukdahan. From there, the drugs would be delivered to customers in other parts of the country, said Promchai Sanitwong Na Ayutthaya, chief of the Mukdahan customs office.
At about 1am on Tuesday, customs officials staking out a position along Highway 212 from Wan Yai district to Mukdahan spotted a bronze Toyota pick-up, prompting them to give chase.
The pick-up suddenly swerved across the median, driving against the flow of traffic before crashing into an oncoming car.
The impact sent the car hurtling into a roadside bush, but fortunately its four occupants -- including a young child -- were not hurt.
The pick-up stopped and the driver ran away into the darkness.
The customs officials searched the pick-up and uncovered black plastic sacks altogether containing 240 bars of dried marijuana, weighing 1kg each.
The pick-up and the marijuana were taken to the customs office in Mukdahan for further investigation.