SURAT THANI: Packages of crystal methamphetamine, or ya ice, weighing a total of 17 kilogrammes were washed ashore on a Koh Samui beach on Wednesday.
Villagers told local police that 17 tightly sealed plastic packages had been found on Hat Koh Taen beach in tambon Taling Ngam.
The yellow packages each weighed 1kg and had three layers of wrapping, with pictures of fancy carp and Chinese lettering. Police estimated the street price of the drugs at 51 million baht.
The packs were similar to three other 1kg packages of crystal meth found on Hat Niyom beach in Chaiya district on Jan 20.
A narcotics suppression official said the packages on the beaches could be from the same illegal shipment as the 100kg of crystal meth found on the coast of Vietnam on Dec 10.
It was possible the drugs were being transported by boat from Vietnam to Thailand for onward smuggling to a third country, but the vessel sank, the official said.
In March last year, a total of 496kg of crystal meth in tightly wrapped plastic was washed ashore in the eastern province of Trat.