Bueng Kan cracks down on drugs as military and police seize a large shipment of one million methamphetamine pills in a single day, arresting two suspects.
On 27 Aug 2026 at 16:00, at the Ranger Battalion 2108 base in Bung Khla District, Bueng Kan Province, Mr. Suraphon Charoenphum, Governor of Bueng Kan, together with Mr. Techapat Jaturongsothorn, Bueng Khong Long District Chief, Mr. Suebwong Jindaphon, Bueng Kan Customs Officer, and local security agencies held a press conference announcing the seizure of approximately 840,000 methamphetamine pills (2 sacks) and one blue-gray Honda Wave 110i motorcycle with sidecar registered in Sakon Nakhon, valued around 25 million baht.
This follows an incident on 26 Aug 2026 at about 07:00 when Lt. Col. Kowit Wongsang, Commander of Ranger Battalion 2108, received a report from personnel on watch of a suspicious individual riding a motorcycle with sidecar parked near the Mekong Riverbank in Ban Laomakphang, Tha Dok Kham Subdistrict, Bueng Khong Long District, Bueng Kan. Due to suspicious behavior, he informed his superiors and coordinated with Police Operation Team 3 of the Crime Suppression Division, Bueng Khong Long security officials, Laoluang Police Station, Border Patrol Police Company 244, Bueng Kan Forensics Police, and other local security agencies to plan an arrest.
Authorities then spotted a long-tail boat with an engine coming from a neighboring country, carrying black and yellow suspicious items to the riverbank where the suspect had parked. The suspect loaded the items onto the motorcycle with sidecar and drove away. Officials followed by car, but the suspect quickly turned into a rubber plantation, abandoned the vehicle inside the plantation near the Mekong Riverbank on the southern side in Ban Laomakphang, Village No. 5, Tha Dok Kham Subdistrict, Bueng Khong Long District.
Upon inspection, authorities found two sacks containing approximately 840,000 methamphetamine pills on the motorcycle with sidecar. They called Bueng Kan Forensic Police to collect latent fingerprints and other evidence at the scene. The evidence was then taken to Ranger Battalion 2108 for detailed counting and documentation before being handed over to Laoluang Police Station investigators to proceed with legal action.
Mr. Suraphon stated that the arrest team has clear evidence from video recordings before and during the interception, and local residents have identified the motorcycle owner. Although the suspect escaped, arrest warrants will be issued promptly to bring them to justice.
In a separate case, investigators from Bueng Kan Provincial Police’s Investigation Division, supported by special operations teams and local security units, raided a house in Village 2, Dong Bang Subdistrict, Bueng Khong Long District, after learning that a drug trafficking group was operating there. They arrested Mr. Panya, 29, and Mr. Panudet, 22, both residents of Dong Bang Subdistrict, with 226,000 methamphetamine pills and two mobile phones seized.
They face charges of jointly distributing a Category 1 narcotic (methamphetamine) by possessing it for sale, an act intended for trade causing drug spread among the public and impacting state security and public safety, violating the law, as well as illegal methamphetamine use.