Bangkok: Metropolitan Police Division 3 raided a drug stash location, seizing 3.9 million pills of narcotics that filled a vehicle. Metropolitan Police Division 3 investigators, following up on a tip from local residents, staked out a drug trafficking network for four days before arresting two suspects during a methamphetamine delivery in the Khlong Sam Wa district. They seized 3.9 million methamphetamine pills and the vehicle used in the crime, and are now working to identify other members of the network.
According to Thai News Agency, over 3.9 million methamphetamine pills were seized as evidence while a drug trafficking network was transferring the drugs from a van to a closed-box pickup truck parked in Soi Pracha Ruamjai 7, Khlong Sam Wa District, Bangkok. The seizure followed a tip-off from residents who reported a suspicious van parked in the community, not belonging to a resident, and suspected drug trafficking. Upon inspection, the van was found to be heavily loaded with numerous black garbage bags, leading police to believe they contained drugs. However, no one was present to guard the vehicle or claim ownership. Police monitored the area for four days until July 9th at 9:00 PM, when two men arrived in a white closed-box pickup truck and attempted to transfer the black plastic bags from the van to the truck. Officers apprehended the two drivers and seized all the drugs.
Police Lieutenant General Siam Boonsom, Commander of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police, revealed that during questioning, the two arrested suspects confessed to being hired by Mr. Hoi Sriracha to pick up goods and deliver them to Chonburi province. Mr. Hoi would park the car and leave the keys at a gas station before the scene of the crime, and then instruct the suspects to take a hired vehicle to pick up the goods at the specified location.
Initial investigations reveal that this process involves smuggling drugs from the northeastern region, using multiple smuggling channels before transporting them to stash points in the Bangkok metropolitan area. From there, groups are hired to transport the drugs to various locations, a method used to disrupt drug trafficking networks and prevent police from tracking down the masterminds. For this case, investigators from the Metropolitan Police Division 3 will be questioning witnesses and gathering evidence to link all those involved.
Initially, both suspects were taken into custody and handed over to investigators at Min Buri Metropolitan Police Station to face charges of jointly selling Category 1 narcotics with intent to sell.