CHIANG RAI: Thirteen bodies and about 1.7 million meth pills were found near the border in Mae Fa Luang district of the northernmost province following a shootout with soldiers on Saturday night, according to sources.
Soldiers and supervisors of the Pha Muang Task Force inspected the scene of the gun battle in tambon Therd Thai on Sunday morning. They found the bodies of 13 people and 17 sacks containing altogether about 1.7 million speed pills.
The gun battle lasted about five minutes and erupted at 7pm on Saturday, said. When soldiers on patrol called for a group of men they saw walking through a forest to stop for a search, the men opened fire, the sources said.
Following the exchange of gunfire, soldiers waited until the morning before surveying the location. No soldiers were injured in the incident.