BANGKOK: Highway police arrested a 23-year-old man and seized approximately 464kg of crystal methamphetamine after the van he was driving crashed into a resident’s fence during a pursuit in Prachuap Khiri Khan on Wednesday (Sept 16).
The suspect, identified only as Minthada, was detained near the Don Sai traffic-light junction on Suk Chit Road in Ko Lak subdistrict, Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan district.
Officers seized 464 bags of methamphetamine, a Category 1 narcotic, packed inside 25 sacks, along with a grey Hyundai van bearing Bangkok registration อฮ 6xx9.
The operation began after the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) asked officers from Highway Police Station 3, Sub-Division 2, to intercept a grey Hyundai van suspected of transporting drugs to southern Thailand.
Officers were informed that the vehicle was passing through Sam Roi Yot district in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Patrol officers subsequently spotted a van matching the description at an intersection in Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan district and attempted to stop it.
Police said the driver accelerated away when he saw the officers, prompting a pursuit. The van eventually veered out of control and struck a resident’s fence.
Officers detained the driver and searched the vehicle, finding the drugs concealed inside.
Police said Minthada admitted that he had been hired for THB500,000 to transport the drugs from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai to Songkhla.
He told investigators that he had collected the crystal methamphetamine in Mae Sai and stopped overnight at a resort in Ratchaburi during the journey south.
He had planned another overnight stop in Chumphon before delivering the drugs in Songkhla, but was intercepted before reaching his destination.
The suspect and the seized items were handed over to NSB investigators for further legal proceedings. - The Nation/ANN
