More than 8.6 million methamphetamine tablets were seized in three drug suppression operations carried out in the North, Provincial Police Region 5 said yesterday.
About 6 million pills were confiscated in the first operation, carried out on Wednesday in Lampang’s Mae Phrik district, said Pol Lt Gen Piya Tawichai, the regional police commissioner.
Two male suspects — both from Chiang Rai — were detained after police found the drugs hidden in their cars, he said.
On Friday, about 618,000 pills were seized after they were found stashed among a pile of tree branches, police said. A suspect had refused to stop at a security checkpoint in Mae Phrik district, speeding away before abandoning the vehicle after a police chase, he said.
In the third case, two men — from Chiang Mai and Pathum Thani — were detained on Friday after police seized 2 million meth pills from them, Pol Lt Gen Piya said.
The pills were stuffed in 10 bags and transported in two lorries that were stopped in Phrae’s Den Chai district, he said.
In all three busts, police had been tipped off, he said.
In other news, police seized 22.5kg of meth and arrested five people in Phetchabun’s Lom Sak district on Friday, said Pol Lt Gen Akradej Pimolsri, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 6 yesterday.
The arrests and seizure were made following a lengthy investigation into the suspects, he said.
The first suspect was detained in Lom Sak district, with 4.25kg of crystal meth, he said. Meanwhile, the suspects were later arrested with 18kg as police widened their search, he said.
