Police arrested a 20-year-old man and his teenage wife for drug trafficking, seizing a massive shipment of nearly half a ton of ice and 2 million methamphetamine pills. They almost escaped initially but were caught because of the sound of an ice cream truck.
On 9 April 2026 at 16:00, in front of Border Patrol Police Company 235 (BPP 235) in That Phanom District, Nakhon Phanom Province, Pol. Lt. Gen. Rungroj Thakoorpunyasiri, Commander of the Border Patrol Police (BPP), Pol. Maj. Gen. Pokpop Badeepitak, Deputy Commander of BPP, Acting Pol. Capt. Adisak Noisuwan, Governor of Nakhon Phanom, Pol. Col. Kanit Klinsrisuk, Deputy Commander of BPP Region 2, Pol. Col. Teerasak Phosrima, Commander of BPP 23, Pol. Lt. Col. Boonlert Wisetchat, Deputy Commander of BPP 23, Pol. Lt. Col. Anusorn Saensing, Deputy Commander and Head of BPP 235, Pol. Lt. Col. Udon Sunthornrat, Commander of BPP 235, and Mr. Preecha Maneesoi, That Phanom District Chief, along with security agency heads, held a press conference announcing the seizure of 579 kilograms of ice in 579 bags, approximately 2 million methamphetamine pills, two suspects, two cars, and two motorcycles.
In the early hours of 8 April 2026, the drug suppression unit of BPP 235 received a tip-off about drug smuggling from the border area into the inner regions. They coordinated with security agencies to patrol various routes. They found five suspicious sacks hidden in grass beside Highway 2031, the main route Silasila-Phrasong, near a canal bridge dividing Phra Klang Thung Subdistrict in That Phanom District and Nong Yang Chin Subdistrict in Renu Nakhon District, specifically on the Nong Yang Chin side.
Upon inspection, the sacks contained about 2,000,000 methamphetamine pills marked with the brand "999." About 30 meters away, a white van and a pickup truck were parked suspiciously on the roadside. Officers investigated but found no one in the vehicles. Community leaders confirmed they had never seen these two cars before. It was suspected these vehicles were meant to transport the five sacks, with one acting as a lead car to clear the route. The vehicles were seized as evidence for further examination.
Although no suspects were found at the scene, authorities quickly tracked and expanded the investigation, linking the case to a suspect named Thanapon, or "Noom," a 20-year-old resident of Hua Don Village, That Phanom Subdistrict, who had a criminal record in police files. Currently, Noom's 16-year-old wife lives in Nonsomboon Village, Phon Paeng Subdistrict, That Phanom District. Officers proceeded to Nonsomboon and had an informant posing as a partner in the operation call Noom to ask his whereabouts. Noom claimed he was working in Saraburi Province and planned to return after Songkran.
As officers were preparing to withdraw, the sound of an ice cream truck bell rang. Noom opened his house door holding a ceramic bowl and called the ice cream seller to stop. Officers then moved in to detain him for questioning, but Noom dropped the bowl and fled, leading to a chase and his eventual capture.
When questioned about the 2 million methamphetamine pills, Noom initially denied any knowledge. A search of the residence shocked officers: inside were 12 suspicious cardboard boxes, along with Noom's 16-year-old wife, Ms. Ploy (alias). Both finally admitted that the boxes contained ice. Counting revealed 597 bags totaling 579 kilograms, which were seized along with two motorcycles for investigation.
During interrogation, Noom confessed that they used his mother-in-law's house to store drugs. The ice was transported by a covered pickup truck from the Mekong River area and stored at this house. He and his wife guarded the stash, awaiting a new vehicle to move the drugs deeper into the country, earning 10,000 baht per sack for guarding. This seizure was significant because if this shipment had reached the inner regions, it would have caused serious social harm.
Subsequent drug tests on the couple showed that Noom's urine tested positive for drugs, while Ms. Ploy's did not, though she was discovered to be in early pregnancy.
The ice's street value at the source is about 300 baht per gram. Each bag contains one kilogram (1,000 grams), worth 300,000 baht. The 579 kilograms seized are valued at approximately 173,700,000 baht. The ice originates from the Golden Triangle area, using Laos as a transit point before entering Thailand. Malaysia is also used as a transit country for trafficking drugs to Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Initially, the suspects were charged with "jointly distributing Category 1 narcotics (ice), possessing for sale, an act intended for commerce and causing widespread distribution among the public." The suspects and seized evidence were handed over to the Lak Sila Police Station for legal proceedings.