Authorities intercepted a vehicle suspected of drug trafficking in Chiang Saen. The driver abandoned the vehicle, which contained 500 kilograms of ice methamphetamine in the rear. Officials used a drone to pursue and ultimately apprehended the suspect. All evidence was seized and the suspect was taken for legal proceedings.
On 21 August 2026, under the direction of Police Major General Manop Senakul, Commander of Chiang Rai Provincial Police, and Police Colonel Anuphan Kantharat, Chief of Chiang Saen Police Station, with Police Lieutenant Colonel Kittipoom Kanjina, Deputy Chief of Investigation at Chiang Saen Police, intelligence indicated a drug trafficking group planned to use routes in Chiang Saen district. Orders were given to Police Lieutenant Colonel Polawat Chobphon and Police Lieutenant Colonel Kowit Jaksomsak to deploy officers along the suspected routes.
At approximately 06:30, officers spotted a suspicious vehicle coming from Mae Sai district, traveling through Ban Dai and Ban Pa Thon villages to evade the Mae Ma checkpoint. A white sedan suspected of acting as a lead vehicle was observed near Chom Kitti road before the lead car accelerated and escaped.
The vehicle suspected of carrying drugs fled toward Ban Dai. Local police and Border Patrol Police Company 327, alerted by intelligence, noticed a heavily loaded suspicious vehicle entering the area. They attempted to stop it for questioning, but the vehicle fled until it was intercepted near Ban Dai Thammaprasit Temple, Village 3, Si Don Mun subdistrict, Chiang Saen district. The driver opened the door and escaped on foot, abandoning the vehicle at the scene.
Search of the black Mitsubishi Xpander Cross with Chiang Rai license plates revealed about 25 sacks containing ice methamphetamine, a category 1 narcotic, weighing approximately 500 kilograms. Local information indicated the drugs are worth around 100,000 baht per kilogram, but the price could rise to 1 million baht per kilogram if distributed deeper into the country. The vehicle is believed to be rented from Wiang Chai district, Chiang Rai province.
After the incident, Police Lieutenant Colonel Kritkorn Kanjina from Koh Chang Police Station, Mae Sai district, deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) to assist in tracking the suspect, working alongside the arrest team. The search took about three hours.
At about 09:30, officers captured 24-year-old Mr. Phanupong Sararam from Nakhon Ratchasima province, the driver suspected of transporting the drugs, near a canal inside a private garden in Ban Dai area, approximately 800 meters to 1 kilometer from where the vehicle was abandoned. The suspect attempted to flee upon hearing the drone but was located and arrested after about three hours of pursuit.
Initially, authorities detained Mr. Phanupong along with approximately 500 kilograms of ice methamphetamine and the seized vehicle. They were handed over to Chiang Saen police for prosecution under the law. Investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend additional accomplices involved.