Border Police Region 2 pursued a man driving a car carrying 500 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice) destined for Khlong Luang. The vehicle crashed off the road, leading to his capture. He confessed to working for a boss from Laos, earning 50,000 baht per sack, having successfully completed three previous runs.
At 10:30 a.m. on 10 June 2026, at the conference room of Border Police Region 2 Headquarters, Pol. Maj. Gen. Wutthipong Yenjit, Commander of Border Police Region 2, along with Pol. Col. Kanit Klinsrisuk, Deputy Commander, and Lt. Komsan Nilsomboon, Head of the Investigation Unit, together with officers from Border Police Region 2 held a press conference. They announced the arrest of Mr. Awut, 40, from Chana District, Songkhla Province, with evidence including about 10 sacks of Category 1 narcotics (ice) totaling approximately 500 kilograms and a white Chevrolet Captiva car registered in Bangkok.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Wutthipong Yenjit, Commander of Border Police Region 2, spoke about the arrest and seizure of 500 kilograms of ice. He said that on 6 May 2026, Border Police Region 2 arrested a suspect with about 316 kilograms of ice on Mittraphap Road in Mueang Khon Kaen District. Subsequent investigations revealed active members of an international drug trafficking network acting as drivers, hired to transport drugs from areas along the Mekong River to central Thailand, continuing to smuggle narcotics.
He ordered Lt. Komsan Nilsomboon, Head of the Investigation Unit of Border Police Region 2, and his team to investigate the movements of the international drug trafficking network. Coordinating with related agencies, they received information from informants about drug transportation using a white Chevrolet Captiva registered in Bangkok. The route would pass through Bueng Kan, Nong Khai, and Udon Thani, using secondary roads between Sri That District, Udon Thani, heading to Khranuan District, Khon Kaen, to deliver drugs from Bueng Kan city area to a market in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province. They coordinated with other agencies to monitor suspects and patrol main and secondary routes from Bueng Kan to Pathum Thani.
At 4:00 a.m. on 8 June 2026, they spotted the white Chevrolet Captiva traveling on Highway 2322, from Tha Khantho District, Kalasin Province, heading towards Khranuan District, Khon Kaen. They closely followed the vehicle, but the driver attempted to escape by turning back to Tha Khantho District and speeding away. The police used stop sticks to disable the vehicle, causing it to skid off the road on the Tha Khantho–Nong Kung Si route. The driver, identified as Mr. Awut, 40, was apprehended. Several black bags were found inside the car, which upon inspection contained 500 rectangular packages of ice totaling 500 kilograms. He was taken into custody for questioning.
During interrogation, Mr. Awut confessed that he was hired to transport drugs for a boss, a man from Laos. The boss communicated via the Line application under the account name “CK.” The job was arranged through a Thai friend who had fled to Laos due to outstanding charges and was close to the Laotian boss. This friend contacted Awut’s close friend, saying the boss needed a driver with a vehicle loaded with drugs parked at various locations, then asked Awut to drive to a market in Khlong Luang District. The pay was 50,000 baht per sack. As Awut was unemployed, he accepted the job and had worked for the boss three times before, successfully delivering each time.
Most recently, the boss had the network purchase the vehicle used for transporting the ice, a repossessed car costing 90,000 baht, which served as the drug transport vehicle. The network parked the car near the new Bueng Kan provincial government center. Awut then drove the vehicle along secondary routes towards the market destination but was intercepted before arrival. Payment from the boss was not transferred directly but made through vendors trading along the Thai-Laos border; once the boss paid, Awut would be notified to collect the money.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Wutthipong added that most arrested individuals confessed only to being hired couriers for drug transport. These couriers often have prior drug offenses and have completed sentences before taking such jobs, effectively making them part of the international drug trafficking network. Police have identified the Thai intermediaries coordinating between the boss and the couriers and are conducting investigations to apprehend all involved parties for prosecution.
The suspect was handed over to investigators at Tha Khantho Police Station, Kalasin Province, to be charged with trafficking Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine or ice) with intent to sell, an offense that causes widespread public harm and threatens state security and public safety.