The villagers in Wiang Chai district of Chiang Rai were terrifying from gunfight sound on Tuesday night when a team of narcotics suppression police was in gun battle with drug smugglers who were from Lahu ethnic group who are trafficking a tonne of crystal methamphetamine or “ice.”
A policeman and a drug smuggler were both shot dead while one policeman was injured. Initial investigation shows that they were members of a major drug syndicate and believed to bring the drug into the inner area before transporting to the third country. If the drug could be smuggled out of the county, the price could be as high as 10 billion baht.
At around 10pm on Tuesday night, dozens of gunfight sound were heard for five sets after a team of narcotics suppression police was trying to intercept a black Toyota Fortuner that carried a full load of drug.
The police used their vehicles to block the car from exiting an alley. The driver refused to surrender, speeded up the car and crashed the car against the police vehicles to open the way for escape. At the same time, the driver opened fire from inside the cabin, triggering a brief gun battle.
Pol Sen Sgt Maj Weerawat Khamnee was killed and another police, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wiphu Panpim, injured. It was reported that another officer, narrowly escapes injury when a bullet sliced through his shirt.
The dead suspect was identified as Janoi, a 51-year-old Lahu man from Chai Prakan district of Chiang Mai. He was killed at the scene. Police said they found 50 blue sacks contain totally one tonne of crystal meth inside the Fortuner. Police also found that the suspect was a father of Jati, a leader of Lahu father and son gang that was hired to smuggle the drug along the border. They used the fake registration plate with same numbers as a sign that they were from the same group.
Jati is reportedly fled to Myanmar and moved inside that country after he was earlier arrested with 6 million pills of drug in Chiang Rai and 700,000 pills in Chiang Mai. Therefore, he asked his father to do this mission.
The local chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau believed that the one tonne of ice worth one billion baht was likely to deliver to the central region in order to transport to the third country and the price will increase by 10 times to 10 billion baht. The drug producers are continuing to produce the illicit drug-ice and meth. The production cost is now cheaper after they use optional chemical substances that are not under control. The price of meth in front of the factory is only 50 satang per pill. The transportation cost from the factory to the border and cross to Thailand is only 10 baht per pill.
Since last October to present, the authorities can intercept the transportation of illicit drug from the northern region for 400 attempts, 91 million meth pills and 3,500 kilograms of ice are seized. The drug rings are changing from cash payment, electronic money transfer and gold to digital currency of crypto currency which makes it harder to monitor. It posts the big problem for the government to tackle the drug problem. (TNA)
