Four people, including a state official, have been arrested and more than 1 million methamphetamine pills worth 50 million baht seized, police said yesterday.
Punyanuch Boonchiti, 34, an official attached to the Surat Thani-based water resources office, was arrested in the car park of a Hat Yai hypermarket with 390,000 speed pills in her car on Sunday.
Three other individuals identified as Monchai Maneenop, 40, Benjamaporn Limsuwan, 27, and Samai Ounjai, 32, were arrested in a separate car in the same operation, which took place in the car park of a Tesco Lotus store. Authorities say they received a tip-off about the drugs.
The suspects later led police to a house in Pathum Thani's Thanya Buri district where another 656,000 speed pills were found. The street value of the drugs was estimated at 50 million baht but could have been as high as 200 million baht if smuggled out of the country.
Mr Monchai told police that he was hired by a man identified only as Sak to collect the pills at the Pathum Thani house and deliver them to Songkhla's Hat Yai.
According to the suspect, Ms Punyanuch was hired to drive the car with the drugs and Mr Samai was hired to drive for him and his wife, Ms Benjamaporn.
Meanwhile, authorities in Tak seized a total of 3,500kg of sodium cyanide, a precursor for crystal methamphetamine production, from a small truck at the Thai-Myanmar customs checkpoint as it was about to cross into Myanmar.
The chemical was stored in 70 containers weighing 50kg each. However, customs papers said the truck was carrying toys. A 25-year-old Myanmar national, was detained.
