Pha Muang Task Force soldiers engaged in a fierce clash and killed 4 suspected drug traffickers along the Mae Ai border in Chiang Mai. After spotting a group of suspicious individuals moving stealthily through the forest, officials identified themselves to conduct a search but were fired upon first. A prolonged gunfight lasting over 5 minutes ensued, resulting in multiple fatalities among the suspects and the seizure of 600,000 methamphetamine pills. Authorities were unharmed.
A reporter stated that at 18:00 on 4 March 2026, Pha Muang Task Force, the 3207 Ranger Company under the Third Army Area Operations Center, collaborated with the 334 Border Patrol Police Company and the 33 Special Border Patrol Police Unit to patrol near Ban Na Ma Oen, Village No. 14, Mae Ai Subdistrict, Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai. They detected about 5 to 10 suspicious individuals carrying sacks modified into backpacks, moving along forest trails.
Officials signaled to request a search, but the group fired upon them with unknown firearms, sparking a roughly 5-minute exchange of gunfire. The authorities remained safe. Reinforcements were deployed, including rapid mobile companies and long-range patrol squads from Pha Muang Task Force, to secure and examine the area.
Upon inspection, four members of the trafficking group were found dead, along with six sacks modified as backpacks containing a total of 600,000 methamphetamine pills, classified as Category 1 narcotics.
At 11:30 on 5 March 2026, Major General Satit Waiyanont, Commander of Pha Muang Task Force, assigned Colonel Meechai Nilsat, Deputy Commander, to hold a press briefing on the drug seizure alongside relevant agencies. All evidence was then handed over to Mae Ai Police Station for legal proceedings.