KHON KAEN: Highway police seized 1,980,000 methamphetamine pills from a minivan after a chase in Nam Phong district of this northeastern province on Sunday morning.
Police at a checkpoint between kilometre markers 384-385 on the Mitrapap highway in Khao Suan Kwang district stopped a Toyota Alphard car for a search, said Pol Lt Col Bodin Chuchalerm, chief of the Highway Police Staion 2, Sub-Division 4.
As officers prepared to start the search, the driver suddenly drove off at high speed, prompting police to give chase.
As the police car drew behind the Alphard, the driver stopped the vehicle between kilometre markers 384-385 in tambon Kut Nam Sai of Nam Phong district before jumping out and running into a roadside sugarcane plantation.
Police searched the vehicle and found 330 packages each containing 6,000 meth pills, a total of 1.98 million. A bag containing 1 kilogramme of crystal meth or ice was found by the driver's seat.
Pol Lt Col Bodin said he believed the drugs had been smuggled into the country from neighbouring Laos, destined for Bangkok and southern provinces.
The drugs and the vehicle were later handed over to Nam Phong police. The driver remained at large.