Police arrested nine suspects and seized 200,000 methamphetamine pills in seven raids in Pathum Thani and Yala provinces yesterday.
Over 130 officers from the Hanuman police task force, Yala Provincial Police and the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) were involved in the raids.
Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob Bhuridej, chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), assigned the Crime Suppression Division to deploy the task force, along with Yala police and the ONCB's Region 1 Office, to raid six locations in Pathum Thani and one spot in Yala.
Pol Lt Gen Jiraphob said that police would request that authorities seize the suspects' assets, including apartments, houses, cars and bank accounts, all worth almost 100 million baht.
The alleged drug-ring mastermind, identified as Charoen, last name withheld, who is known by his alias Jack Sam Mor, and his three associates were arrested at his garage in tambon Bueng Kham Phroi, Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani.
Reports said that the garage was a cover for his alleged drug-trafficking business and a hideout for his associates, who disguised themselves as car mechanics.
The raid followed the arrest of suspects possessing war weapons in Yala province who were allegedly part of a drug trafficking network and were found with over 200,000 meth pills.
Police later found that Mr Charoen was allegedly in charge of a large drug trafficking ring in the central region that transports drugs to the South of Thailand via private shipping services to avoid inspection.
Mr Chareon and other suspects had settled in Pathum Thani province and allegedly opened a real estate business, a race bike garage and a weed cafe to disguise their drug-selling locations.