Chiang Rai City Police intercepted a drug trafficking operation after a tip-off about a suspicious pickup truck leaving a fruit orchard. The driver attempted to flee, losing control and overturning the vehicle into a canal. Nearly 5 million methamphetamine pills were found. The investigation expanded to arrest the driver of a waiting ten-wheeler truck, totaling two suspects, seizing four mobile phones and two vehicles.
At approximately 20:00 on 29 August 2026, Chiang Rai City Police, under the leadership of Police Chief Kittirat Phanpetch, Provincial Police Commander Manop Senakul, City Police Chief Kriangsak Tongsiri, and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, jointly conducted an operation to intercept and suppress drug trafficking in Chiang Rai Province, arresting two suspects with 4,990,000 methamphetamine pills seized.
Officers received a tip from an informant about a drug trafficking route using a public road along Ban Pho Ngam canal in Pa O Don Chai Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai District. The vehicle involved was a white Toyota pickup truck with a cage on the truck bed.
Around 19:30, the informant reported seeing the vehicle cross a public canal bridge at the end of Ban Pho Ngam village into a fruit orchard. By about 20:00, officers arrived at the area and found the pickup truck matching the description, loaded with sacks filling the truck bed and heading toward the main road.
Officers signaled to inspect the vehicle, but the pickup accelerated and fled into dense grass. Pursuing continuously, the vehicle lost control and overturned into a public canal. Officers assisted the occupant, identified as Arepa Laeipa, 33, residing at 30/3 Village 7, Khee Lek Subdistrict, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province. Searching the vehicle revealed numerous sacks containing a total of 4,990,000 methamphetamine pills. These, along with four mobile phones and the involved vehicles, were seized as evidence.
In initial questioning, Arepa stated he was hired by a person named Abe, located in Myanmar, to transport methamphetamine to a truck parked at the Ban Pho Ngam canal road rendezvous point, claiming he did not know who would receive the drugs.
Police then investigated the reported location and found a ten-wheeler truck, license plate 70-1799 Phrae, parked along the canal road, a dark and secluded spot. As officers approached, the driver, Tawun Suwanchatree, 60, from 572 Village 1, Makok Nuea Subdistrict, Khuan Khanun District, Phatthalung Province, waved, mistakenly believing the approaching vehicle was the white pickup delivering goods. He claimed he had been hired via a Line group to transport items in Chiang Rai, provided coordinates for the pickup delivery, and was told a white pickup truck would bring the goods. However, officers were suspicious due to the isolated location near where the pickup overturned, inconsistencies in Tawun's statements, and detained him for further questioning at Chiang Rai City Police Station.
Examination of Tawun's mobile phone uncovered conversations about drug trafficking via the Line app. Online bank account reviews showed numerous financial transactions of unclear origin, including transfers to a woman identified as Tawun's girlfriend.
Authorities concluded that Tawun was involved in the drug trafficking operation, noting his presence at the rendezvous point consistent with Arepa's account that the truck was to collect the methamphetamine. Both suspects were informed of their rights and charged with jointly possessing Category 1 narcotics (methamphetamine) for sale without permission, related offenses involving public distribution, and participation in a criminal network affecting state security and public safety. They were detained with seized evidence at Chiang Rai City Police Station for prosecution, and investigations continue to identify accomplices and masterminds.