CHIANG RAI: Rangers seized 200,000 speed pills left by a drug courier following a chase along a steep road in Thoeng district, Chiang Rai province, late Friday night.
A team of paramilitary rangers manning a road checkpoint at Thai Samakkhi village in tambon Thap Tao spotted a suspected motorcycle speeding from Phu Cheefa mountain to Khun Huay Takrai village in Thoeng district at around 9pm on Friday. This prompted them to give chase along the narrow road.
When reaching a steep section of the road, the motorcycle driver lost control, causing his bike to fall. He then abandoned it and fled into a nearby forest.
The rangers found the abandoned black motorcycle with no licence plates and a fertiliser sack near it. Two packages, each containing 100,000 speed pills, were found inside the sack.
Capt Santi Talah, commander of the 3102 ranger company, said three teams of rangers had earlier set up road checkpoints along the route at Thai Samakkhi village on Friday night following information that a drug gang would smuggle illicit drugs along the route. The suspect had used an alternative road to avoid the checkpoints, but officers spotted him and gave chase.
The seized drugs were handed over to Thoeng police station on Saturday morning.
