Police yesterday arrested three drug suspects driving along the Chiang Mai - Lampang highway and confiscated nearly Bt200million worth of methamphetamine.
Police Region 5 commissioner LtGeneral Somkid Boonthanom described it as the biggest haul ever in his jurisdiction.
The suspects were arrested very early yesterday. In one of their two vehicles, police say they uncovered 1.2 million methamphetamine tablets.
The suspects were identified as Pracha Wiangbanphot, 31, Chatree sae Laoya, 23, and Pichet sae Tao, 22. They pleaded guilty to attempting to deliver the illicit drug to Talaad Thai market in Pathum Thani.
"They started their trip from Doi Angkhang," Somkid said.
Speaking at a press conference, Chatree said he had delivered the methamphetamine to the Talaad Thai market three times before.
"We were paid Bt300,000 per trip," Chatree said.
He was tasked with driving a pickup to check whether the route was safe for the sixwheeled truck carrying the methamphetamine, which trailed some distance behind. Two other suspects were responsible for the truck, which carried cabbages as cover for the illicit cargo.
Somkid revealed that police had been monitoring the alleged drugtrafficking gang for three months.
He said a ChineseHaw man known only as "Jeng" had hired Chatree, Pracha and Pichet as deliverymen. Jeng also owns the two vehicles.
"We are going to investigate the case further in a bid to arrest the big boss (Jeng) too," Somkid said.