Thai police seize 2.2 million methamphetamine pills

Bangkok (dpa) – Anti-narcotics police seized 2.2 million methamphetamine pills and 50 kilogrammes of crystal meth in northern Thailand, and arrested three alleged traffickers, police said Friday.

“If they had sold these drugs, they would have made not less than one billion baht ($33.3 million),” Narcotics Suppression Bureau Commissioner Lieutenant-General Chaiwat Chotima told The Manager online news service.

Thai policemen arrange packages of methamphetamine on a table before a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 15. Thai police seized nearly two million methamphetamine pills from smugglers near the country’s northern border Thursday in one of this year’s largest drug busts. AP

Acting on a tip-off, police set up check points on the highway at Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai province, 630 kilometres north of Bangkok.

At 9.30pm Thursday (1430 GMT) a pickup truck refused to stop at the checkpoints and police gave chase, and stopped it by shooting out one of the tyres.

The three suspected traffickers attempted to flee but after a brief exchange of fire, they were arrested, Chaiwat said.

The Shan State in north-east Myanmar, which borders Chiang Rai province, is believed to be the main source of methamphetamines and crystal meth in Southeast Asia.

In 2011, Thai authorities seized more than 49 million methamphetamine pills and 1,232 kilogrammes of ice.