CHIANG MAI: More than 800,000 speed pills and 5 kilogrammes of ketamine were found hidden in a border area in Mae Ai district on Saturday, while 40 illegal migrants from Myanmar were caught in Fang district in a separate operation.
Soldiers found six modified rucksacks hidden near Na Ma-eun village Moo 12 in tambon Mae Ai while patrolling the border on Saturday afternoon, said Maj Gen Narit Thawornwong, commander of the Pha Muang task force.
The troops checked the rucksacks and found 838,000 speed pills and ketamine weighing 5 kilogrammes inside. They handed the drugs over to local police.
In Fang district, meanwhile, a patrol spotted a group of men and women walking along a border area in tambon Mon Pin. When they signalled the group to stop, they found 22 men and 18 women, all illegal migrants, said Col Narit.
During questioning, they told officers that they had crossed the border to get jobs in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. They had paid 25,000 baht each to job brokers. The soldiers contacted health officials to take the detainees for temperature checks as part of Covid-19 screening before they were handed over to police for legal proceedings.
The drug seizure, meanwhile, was the second of its kind in Mae Ai this week.
On Thursday, a team of army rangers and drug suppression police seized more than 4 million methamphetamine pills, 26kg of ketamine and an improvised grenade abandoned by smugglers as they fled following a brief clash in Mae Ai district.
Soldiers guard some of the 40 illegal migrants from Myanmar found in Fang district of Chiang Mai on Saturday. (Photo supplied: Panumet Tanraksa)