CHIANG MAI: A military patrol seized 90,000 methamphetamine pills believed to have been abandoned by a drug courier who sped through a checkpoint in Wiang Haeng district on a motorcycle late on Saturday night, Pha Muang Force commander Maj Gen Narit Thawornwong revealed on Sunday.
The suspect was signalled to stop for a search while he was approaching the Ban Hua Pai checkpoint in tambon Muang Haeng on a blue motorcycle without a licence plate.
The man sped through the checkpoint and fled.
A patrol from the 1st Cavalry Company of the 4th Cavalry Regiment was deployed to scour the area. The patrol found a grey backpack containing 90,000 meth pills and the motorcycle, both believed to have been left behind by the fleeing suspect.
Maj Gen Narit said drug traders in the border area had resorted to using motorcycles to transport about 100,000 meth pills at a time to escape being caught, forcing the authorities to adapt to the new tactic.