Border Police Region 2 intercepted a pickup truck carrying 270 kilograms of ice meth worth 100 million baht. The suspect confessed to being on bail in a drug case. A friend invited him to drive the vehicle for a fee of 100,000 baht, so he accepted the job but did not reach the destination. The friend got off halfway, and police gathered evidence to request arrest warrants for four more individuals.
At 10:30 a.m. on 11 March 2026, at the Border Patrol Police Region 2 headquarters in Nai Mueang Subdistrict, Mueang District, Khon Kaen Province, Mr. Phanthep Saokoson, Deputy Governor of Khon Kaen Province, along with Police Major General Wutthipong Yenjit, Commander of Border Patrol Police Region 2, and Police Colonel Kanit Klinsrisuk, Deputy Commander of the same unit, together with officers from the intelligence operations team of Border Patrol Police Region 2,
held a press conference announcing the arrest of Mr. Phaisan Hatkhoksung, 35, from Nong Bua Daeng District, Chaiyaphum Province. He was caught with 270 kilograms of ice meth and a black Nissan Navara pickup truck bearing license plate Por-8969 from Khon Kaen.
Prior to the arrest, the intelligence operations team of Border Patrol Police Region 2 learned that a drug trafficking group from a neighboring country, working with Thai nationals, planned to smuggle drugs from Tha Uthen District, Nakhon Phanom Province, to Saraburi Province. This time, the group intended to avoid the usual route and instead travel through Nakhon Phanom, Nong Bua Lamphu, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, and Saraburi.
After obtaining this information, the intelligence operations team reported to their superiors and planned to intercept and arrest by positioning forces along the specified route.
At 3:30 a.m. on 11 March 2026, the intelligence operations team spotted a black Nissan Navara pickup truck, license plate Por-8969 from Khon Kaen, driving on the road from Si Chomphu District to Chum Phae District. They stopped the vehicle and requested to search it. The driver was Mr. Phaisan Hatkhoksung, 35, from Chaiyaphum. The truck bed was covered with a blue and white tarp, underneath which were black bags and patterned sacks totaling six sacks.
Upon opening the sacks, officers found ice meth packaged in tea leaf wrappers. When unwrapped, there were 270 bags of ice meth, each weighing one kilogram, totaling 270 kilograms. Mr. Phaisan was taken into custody for interrogation.
During questioning, Mr. Phaisan admitted he had previously been arrested for drug offenses and was released in 2016. He was now caught again and was on bail at Phu Khieo District Court in Chaiyaphum Province. After being released, he worked driving trucks for hauling and cutting sugarcane. Then a junior friend nicknamed Mr. Dew, 26, invited him to drive a vehicle to deliver goods from Tha Hin area, Ban Tha Dok Kaeo, Tha Champa Subdistrict, Tha Uthen District, Nakhon Phanom Province, to Saraburi Province. The employer promised a 100,000 baht payment per person.
On the appointed evening of 10 March 2026, another junior friend named Mr. Som, 27, drove the black Nissan Navara pickup truck with license plate Por-8969 from Khon Kaen to pick him up at his home to transport the ice meth at the designated location for delivery to Saraburi.
Throughout the journey, Mr. Dew and another friend drove a white Isuzu D-Max pickup truck (license plate unknown) leading the way to the destination at Tha Hin, Ban Tha Dok Kaeo. Upon arrival, several men loaded six sacks into the truck bed covered with a tarp. Then Mr. Phaisan drove along the route given by Mr. Dew. When they reached Nong Bua Lamphu Province, Mr. Som got off halfway to attend to business, leaving Mr. Phaisan to drive alone until being arrested at the traffic light intersection in Chum Phae District, Khon Kaen.
Police Major General Wutthipong Yenjit, Commander of Border Patrol Police Region 2, said after the suspect confessed, there were four Thai accomplices and several men from a neighboring country. The suspect and friends acted as couriers smuggling ice meth from Tha Uthen District, Nakhon Phanom Province, to Saraburi Province. Each courier was paid 100,000 baht, while the owner of the vehicle used to transport the drugs received an additional 100,000 baht. This revealed the suspect was not acting alone.
After interrogation, the suspect was handed over with the evidence to investigators at Chum Phae Police Station to be prosecuted for jointly trafficking Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine or ice), possessing them for distribution, which is an offense committed for commercial purposes, causing widespread public harm and affecting national security and public safety.
The four accomplices are identified by name, surname, and address, and investigators at Chum Phae Police Station are gathering evidence to request arrest warrants to detain them on the same charges for prosecution. The 270 kilograms of ice meth seized in this case would be worth 100 million baht if successfully delivered to the destination.