National police deputy commissioner Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan said on Friday that the NSB also seized other illicit drugs including crystal meth or "ice", ecstasy pills and cocaine. Among the seven drug busts, there were three key cases including the arrest of Surachai Bese, 27, on Monday night in Chiang Rai with 4 million methamphetamine pills he is alleged to have smuggled from a border location. Chalermkiat said the second case saw drug suspect Polawat Lungsikaew, 23, killed in a shootout with Army troops in Chiang Rai while attempting to smuggle 2.8 million methamphetamine pills into Thailand from Myanmar on Sunday night. In the third case, a 46-year-old bus driver Prom Rattanakrajang and his elder brother Thanathip, 50, were arrested on January 20 along with 2.82 million methamphetamine pills in Chiang Rai. Chalermkiat also said that the police drug suppression in the past three months since November 2018-January 2019 had seen 113,000 drug busts which confiscated a total of 248.4 million methamphetamine pills, 4,324 kilograms of "ice", 442 kilograms of heroine, and 3,454 kilograms of marijuana.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 01, 2019 10:30 UTC