Bangkok: Bangkok Metropolitan Police have expanded their investigation, arresting two major drug trafficking networks and seizing over 17.56 million methamphetamine pills. They are preparing to further investigate and prosecute other members of the network.
According to Thai News Agency, in the first case, officers from the Narcotics Suppression Division of the Child and Women Welfare Bureau (DSW) arrested Mr. Komsan, also known as Games, and Mr. Thannawat, also known as Wat, while they were hiding in a makeshift shelter in Nong Khaem Subdistrict, Nong Khae District, Saraburi Province. They seized 9,560,000 methamphetamine pills and three mobile phones, with a total value exceeding 500 million baht. Pol. Gen. Samran Nualma, Deputy National Police Chief and Bangkok Metropolitan Police Commissioner, revealed that this case is an extension of an earlier arrest of a drug network transporting drugs from the Northeast to be hidden in distribution points in the Bangkok metropolitan area. Further investigation led to intelligence indicating that drugs were being transported in a van to a shelter in Saraburi Province for distribution to networks in Bangkok. Upon locating the target, a large quantity of methamphetamine pills was discovered during the search. The two suspe cts have been charged with jointly distributing Category 1 narcotics without permission for commercial purposes. They have been taken into custody along with the seized items for legal proceedings. Regarding the investigation, authorities have now identified the accomplices and related networks and are in the process of gathering evidence to request arrest warrants from the court to prosecute them.
In another operation, Metropolitan Police Division 7 pursued a drug trafficking network using a gold-colored pickup truck with a canopy as a getaway vehicle. They were using a bypass route around Lopburi, bound for Saraburi province. Upon encountering the suspicious pickup truck at the Robinson intersection in Kok Ko Subdistrict, Mueang Lopburi District, officers identified themselves and requested a search. The driver accelerated and attempted to ram the officers' vehicle, prompting officers to fire shots at all four tires. The suspect abandoned the vehicle and escaped using their knowledge of the area. A search of the truck bed revealed 40 sacks of methamphetamine pills, totaling 8 million pills. This arrest is an extension of an investigation into small-scale drug trafficking, revealing a network using Lopburi as a transit point for drugs before distributing them to the Bangkok metropolitan area. The seized drugs have been handed over to Mueang Lopburi Police Station for recording before being transferred to the Narcotics Suppression Division for further legal proceedings. Authorities are actively pursuing the fugitives and expanding the investigation to include other members of the network. The Deputy Commissioner General of Police confirmed that the investigation revealed the two cases involve separate networks, and that Metropolitan Police are instructed to pursue the matter thoroughly.