Three suspected drug traffickers were killed in a shootout after illegally entering Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai. They resisted arrest, leading to a firefight with authorities who seized 390,000 methamphetamine pills.
At 21:45 on 28 July 2026, Colonel Suphan Roiput, commander of the Thap Chao Tak Task Force, received reports of drug traffickers moving from the border into Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai. He ordered heightened area surveillance.
Later, rangers from unit 3107, part of the 31st Ranger Regiment of the Pha Muang Task Force, patrolling near the natural border crossing at Pha Daeng, Ban Pong Hai, village 21, Mae Salong Nai Subdistrict, Mae Fah Luang district, detected about 5-6 armed men carrying backpacks crossing from the border into the area.
Officials signaled to identify themselves and requested to search the group, but the men immediately fired unknown firearms at the officers to escape. A firefight lasting about five minutes ensued. Authorities called for backup from two additional Thap Chao Tak Task Force units to surround and secure the area.
At dawn, 06:00 on 29 July 2026, officers cleared the scene and found three deceased suspects. Three backpacks, modified from sacks, were found on the forest floor, each containing about 130,000 methamphetamine pills, totaling approximately 390,000 pills. Confiscated weapons included one homemade firearm (a "gap" gun) and one long shotgun.
At 12:00, Major General Satit Waiyanon, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force and director of its drug prevention and suppression center, ordered Colonel Suphan Roiput, commander of the Thap Chao Tak Task Force, along with doctors from Mae Fah Luang Hospital, Chiang Rai prosecutors, Mae Fah Luang police, and local administration officials to inspect the scene and deliver the seized items to Mae Fah Luang Police Station for legal proceedings.
Major General Satit Waiyanon revealed that since 1 October 2025, the Pha Muang Task Force has intercepted drugs 446 times, arrested 428 suspects, and seized 263,288,207 methamphetamine pills, 20 kg of heroin, 6,674.3 kg of crystal methamphetamine (ice), 378.6 kg of opium, and 1,089.5 kg of ketamine. They have engaged traffickers 63 times, resulting in 49 deaths among traffickers.