Four suspects arrested with 2.89 million meth pills and 260kg of ketamine in border drug bust

Four suspects were arrested with 2.89 million methamphetamine pills and 260 kilograms of ketamine in a major drug bust along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Thai troops were patrolling the border when they stopped three suspicious motorcycle-riding men at a checkpoint in Chiang Rai province on August 25.

The riders, identified as Myanmar nationals Mason Khadi and Myo Min Oo, and an undocumented man named Jiang Nai Thun, reportedly gave evasive answers and behaved suspiciously.

Officers searched their phones and allegedly found photographs showing sacks stuffed inside a seven-seater vehicle, along with messages believed to be connected to drug trafficking.

The men were detained, and the information was passed to Border Patrol Police, who began tracking down the target vehicle.

At around 3 pm local time, soldiers located the van in the Wiang Chiang Rung district.

A search reportedly found15 modified backpacks containing 2.89 million methamphetamine pills. The driver, whose name was not disclosed, was arrested for further questioning.

The investigation was expanded, leading police to a room in the Mae Sai district at around 6 pm. Inside, they allegedly found 13 rice sacks containing 260kg of ketamine in total.

The four suspects were remanded in custody.

Police Colonel Rangsiman Songkhrotham said officers had been closely monitoring drug-trafficking networks operating along Chiang Rai's border.

He said: 'Over the past two years, the volume of narcotics smuggled through the Chiang Rai border has substantially increased.

‘It is essential to intercept and eradicate these operations to prevent drugs from surging into the country's interior.

‘Border Patrol Police Region 3 has integrated efforts with relevant agencies to continue preventing the spread of narcotics.'

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 drug chains.