Soldiers in Chiang Mai‘s Fang district intercepted a significant drug smuggling operation early yesterday morning, December 21, confiscating 300,000 methamphetamine pills left behind by fleeing suspects. The incident unfolded when two military patrols from the Chaiyanuparb special unit encountered three or four men carrying rucksacks near an orange grove in tambon Monpin at approximately 3am.
Upon being signalled to stop for a search, the men responded with gunfire, prompting the soldiers to return fire.
The ensuing exchange of gunfire lasted about five minutes, after which the suspects managed to flee the scene. According to Major General Keedakorn Chantra, commander of the Pha Muang task force, no soldiers sustained injuries during the shootout.
In the aftermath, troops maintained a vigilant presence in the area overnight, preparing for a detailed inspection the following morning. At 6.40am, a team comprising soldiers, police, and local officials conducted a thorough search of the vicinity.
Their efforts led to the discovery of three modified rucksacks, each packed with 100,000 methamphetamine pills, but the smugglers themselves had vanished without a trace, reported Bangkok Post.
The confiscated drugs were transferred to the Fang police station for further investigation and processing.
In related news, a Thai woman was arrested at Kansai International Airport in Osaka after she smuggled 6 million baht worth of cocaine into Japan.
Local news agencies in Japan recently reported that the 23 year old Thai woman, whose identity remains undisclosed, was arrested at Kansai Airport after 760 grammes of cocaine were found in her possession. The drugs were worth approximately 27 million yen, or around 8 million baht.
The suspect concealed the drugs in her backpack but could not evade the attention of officials. Japanese security officials became suspicious after noticing that she brought very few belongings with her, carrying only one backpack.
Officials examined her bag and found unusual stitching with yellow thread in a suspicious location.
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