Police yesterday arrested two Myanmar nationals for trying to smuggling 360 kilogrammes of marijuana across the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak.
The arrest was a part of an operation to crack down on cannabis smuggling in the area of the Mae Sot border district, said Pol Maj Gen Parinya Wisitthadakul, commander of Tak Provincial Police.
Smugglers often try to move marijuana from Thailand into Myawaddy in Myanmar, where it can fetch double the price.
The first suspect, a 35-year-old Myanmar male, was arrested yesterday morning as he drove his Toyota van to a border checkpoint.
Police discovered 136 bricks of compressed cannabis, roughly 1kg per brick, concealed in nine boxes, which the suspect had claimed contained frozen chicken.
Their questioning of the man led to the arrest of another 28-year-old Myanmar male, at a safe house in the area, where they confiscated about 216kg of compressed cannabis.
The 360kg of confiscated marijuana was estimated by police to be worth 10 million baht in Thailand and 20 million in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, officers from Provincial Police Region (PPR) 1 yesterday arrested a suspected member of a major drug syndicate, on Debaratana Road, in front of Bangna Hospital in Samut Prakan.
PPR 1 commissioner Pol Lt Gen Amphon Buarapphon said officers found a huge quantity of drugs in the man's Toyota Fortuner -- 4.5 million methamphetamine pills and 1,000 ecstasy pills, worth 200 million baht.
The man also led police to his rented house nearby, where he had stashed 500 grammes of crystal ice.
He said he had learned that if you mix crystal ice and ketamine you create a strong stimulant recreational drug.
Police are trying to track down other members of the man's drug ring, Pol Lt Gen Amphon said.