MAE HONG SON: A total of 11 million pills of methamphetamine and 141 kilogrammes of crystal meth, or ya ice, were seized in Pai district over the past three days, the biggest busts this century.
The narcotics were seized during a drug prevention operation along the Thai-Myanmar border in Baan Pai Song Ngae of tambon Wiang Nuea, the province’s governor, Chettha Mosikarat, revealed on Monday.
On March 7, border patrol police found 37 sacks containing seven million meth pills of drugs and 100 kilogrammes of crystal meth.
Eight more sacks with 1.2 million meth pills and 35kg of crystal meth were discovered on the following day. Further investigation led to yesterday’s capture of 2.932 million more pills and 6.8kg of crystal meth in a nearby area.
A source from the Thai intelligence agency revealed that the drugs were to be trafficked to Australia and then to America for distribution.
The drugs were to be transported from Pai to Chiang Mai by smugglers posing as tourists, the source said.
Mr Chettha explained that the operation, which collaborated with the Interior Ministry, aimed to cut the narcotics circuit and prevent drug trafficking by focusing on re-x-raying every district in Mae Hong Son.
The local authorities, especially along the border, were ordered to intensify their investigative measures, he said.