Mae Sai Customs seized a Myanmar trishaw driver at the border checkpoint after uncovering 600,000 methamphetamine pills and 111.815 kilograms of ketamine, with a total value exceeding 74 million baht.
At 10:30 a.m. on 5 July 2026, officials from the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge Border Checkpoint 1 in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, collaborated with the 3rd Cavalry Company of the Special Task Force Thap Jaotak, Chiang Rai Immigration, Mae Sai Police Station, and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board Region 5 to announce the arrest of a Myanmar suspect along with a large drug haul valued at over 74 million baht.
The press briefing was led by Mr. Waris Wisaratnon, Chief of Mae Sai Customs, accompanied by Ms. Nonglak Sirithaow, Director of Customs Control Division; Mr. Phichitpong Ektammasut, Head of Investigation and Suppression Division; and Second Lieutenant Saksayam Jamnong, Head of Customs Control and Inspection Division, Customs Office Region 3.
Ms. Nonglak Sirithaow revealed that while officers were screening vehicles entering Thailand at Mae Sai Border Checkpoint 1, they observed a Myanmar trishaw, brand YAQI, license plate SHN-4U 1293, entering the inspection lane. Officers noticed something unusual: the rear bed was tightly covered with a tarp and loaded with numerous plastic baskets.
Although the baskets appeared empty from the outside, the vehicle’s weight was abnormally heavy. Officers stopped it for a thorough search. Upon detailed inspection, they were shocked to find narcotics hidden inside the baskets: 60 packs containing approximately 600,000 methamphetamine pills and 107 packs of ketamine weighing a total of 111.815 kilograms.
Investigation identified the suspect as a 41-year-old Pa-O ethnic Myanmar man residing in Pongtun Village, Tachileik District, Eastern Shan State. He was the driver of the seized trishaw.
Mr. Khun Teng Oo confessed that he was hired by another Myanmar man to transport the baskets across the border for 10,000 baht. Beforehand, the employer borrowed his trishaw to load the baskets, meeting near the roundabout close to the Tachileik border checkpoint exit. About an hour later, the employer returned the trishaw. Mr. Khun Teng Oo then drove it across the checkpoint until he was arrested by Thai officials.
Initially, customs officials charged the suspect with "importing goods not cleared by customs into the kingdom" and "illegal importation of narcotics into the kingdom." The suspect and all seized items were handed over to Mae Sai Police for legal proceedings. Relevant agencies were also coordinated to investigate and dismantle the criminal network behind this operation.