CHIANG MAI: Major drug seizures, netting 551 kilogrammes of heroin and 8 million methamphetamine pills, were made in Phrae province on Sunday and Monday, Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk, the national police chief, said on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Valentine's Day, police at the Huay Rai drug checkpoint in Phrae's Denchai district intercepted a 10-wheel Hino truck with a full load of mangoes.
A search of the cargo uncovered 1,400 slabs of heroin, weighing 551kg in total. The driver, Preeda Sanguanhong, 29, of Trat province, was arrested.
Pol Gen Suwat said the seizure followed a week-long police investigation into reports that a large amount of drugs would be smuggled from the northen border area south to Pathum Thani province.
On Feb 15, also at the Huay Rai checkpoint, a 10-wheel truck with a load of charcoal was stopped for a search. Police found 8 million methamphetamine pills hidden among the charcoal. The driver, Wuthichai Nualket, 34, from Phetchabun, was arrested.
Pol Gen Suwat said the two deliveries were related. The drivers of the two trucks were hired by the same person, each to be paid 100,000 baht. They drove the trucks to Phayao province, where the drugs were hidden among the cargoes for delivery to Pathum Thani.
The police chief asked people to act as eyes and ears for police and provide information about drug deliveries to the drugs hotline 1599, emergency hotline 191, line@inthanon (Provincial Police Region 5 commissioner) and through the app Police I Lert U.