CHIANG RAI – A senior policeman has been arrested for allegedly trafficking meth pills in Chiang Rai‘s Mae Sai district. Almost 200,000 methamphetamine pills were found in his luggage.
Mae Sai district policemen, manning a checkpoint stopped a bus, bound for Bangkok from Mae Sai, for a routine check. The officers found a locked suitcase, owned by Police Lt-Col Surachit Thavuth, and asked him to open it for inspection. Police discovered a stash of two hundred thousand methamphetamine pills.
Pol Lt Col Surachit Tawut, 35, is an inspector in charge of investigations at Uthai Thani Provincial Police.
Shortly after learning of the arrest, Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen, of the Uthai Thani province formed an investigative panel to take disciplinary action against Pol Lt Col Surachit.
Pol Lt Col Surachit was temporarily suspend until the investigation is complete. A disciplinary committee has been set up to deal with the matter, few other details were available.
Earlier this week police seized one million methamphetamine pills following a shootout between soldiers and drug runners.
A patrol spotted about 10 men, traveling in a forest area in Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai province.
When signaled to stop for a search they instead opened fire on the security patrol, Thai media reported.
After a brief exchange of shots, the men retreated into the forest, abandoning their backpacks as they fled. The backpacks contain 1.1 million methamphetamine pills.
