Drug suspect smashes through police checkpoint before being shot dead

This is the dramatic moment drug suspects smashed through a police checkpoint before one of them was shot dead.

Wichian, 28, and Ekkaphong, 22, were allegedly hauling a large meth shipment from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai when they reached the Mae Tho checkpoint, in the early hours of Tuesday.

But the pair refused to stop for an inspection, and ploughed through the police stop at around 12:27 am local time.

CCTV footage shows the alleged drug runners racing away before officers gave chase.

The suspects reportedly lost control of their white Honda CR-V and veered off the roadside. They then got out and opened fire at pursuing cops, triggering a five-minute gun battle.

The standoff ended when the two men surrendered. Wichian was wounded in the shootout and later died from his injuries.

Police Major General Manop Senakul, commander of Chiang Rai Provincial Police, said around 4.5 million methamphetamine pills were seized from the scene.

He added: ‘After the inspection, we handed over the suspects and seized items to Mae Chedi Police Station for legal proceedings, along with expanding the investigation to identify accomplices and relevant networks.'

Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug use, production, and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.

Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.

However, cracking down on drug production has been complicated by the influx of crime gangs from China and the Burmese civil war, which has seen the army take over the country - along with control of lucrative drugs chains.