BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Jan 20 detailed the seizure of over 330 million methamphetamine tablets and the dismantling of several major criminal syndicates, in one of the most significant blows to the narcotics trade in Thailand in recent years.
Between October 2025 and mid-January, the Thai authorities arrested more than 88,000 suspects and froze assets valued at over 3.39 billion baht (S$140 million -- RM442 million).
“We are operating under a ‘must win’ mandate,” Anutin told reporters. “This is not just about the volume of drugs seized, but about dismantling the infrastructure of these networks, whether they are managed by international masterminds or enabled by local political figures.”
The operation, which highlighted 15 “big plot” cases, underscored the evolving sophistication of the trade.
Among the most notable arrests was that of Chiang Ming-feng, described as the “brain” of a transnational network operating out of Bangkok’s upscale Asoke district.
He is accused of concealing ketamine within carpets and chemically altering heroin into a liquid state resembling cosmetic lotion for international export.
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the local government, the crackdown also ensnared a prospective local politician in the north-eastern Thai province of Mukdahan.
The individual was caught with 282,000 meth pills, a discovery the Prime Minister cited as evidence of the “insidious infiltration” of drug money into the country’s political fabric.
The report detailed a variety of desperate smuggling methods.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, the second-largest province in southern Thailand, officers intercepted a vehicle where one million tablets were hidden in spare tyres and seats, meticulously coated in candle wax to mask the scent of the drugs from sniffer dogs.
Farther north, Thailand’s Border Patrol Police intercepted nearly half a tonne of crystal meth (Ice) on the banks of the Mekong River as it was being ferried across from Laos.
Another major seizure involved over seven million tablets found hidden in a commercial lorry in Ratchaburi, a Thai province west of Bangkok.
The statistics released paint a picture of an immense logistics battle, with the following seized in the operations: Methamphetamine (Yaba): 330,148,613 tablets; Crystal meth (Ice): 11,008kg; Ketamine: 1,960kg; Heroin: 269kg.
The Thai Prime Minister praised the “courage and diligence” of the front-line officers involved in the high-risk operations, promising enhanced welfare packages for them.
He reiterated that the government’s focus would now shift towards deeper financial investigations to ensure that the “blood money” of the narcotics trade was permanently stripped from the cartels. -- THE NATION THAILAND/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
