KANCHANABURI: A man and a woman were arrested at a security checkpoint in Sangkhla Buri district of this western border province on Saturday after 15 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, were found hidden in their vehicle.
The drug was seized at about 6am when a Toyota Vios was stopped for a search at the Ban Nam Krirk checkpoint in tambon Nonglu on Phra Chedi Sam Ong-Sangkhla Buri road.
Soldiers of the Lat Ya Task Force manning the checkpoint recovered a total of 15kg of crystal meth hidden in three spots -- under the hood, under the front seat and in the rear compartment. The drugs were wrapped in black plastic bags.
Nipapat Klanbut, 28, of Kanchanaburi's Phanom Thuan district, the driver, and her brother Wanchalerm Sohsawaeng, 18, were arrested for drug possession.
Ms Nipapat said she and her brother were driving to Sangkhla Buri for a tour of the Three Pagodas Pass. They were accompanied on the trip by a friend called Ms Jip, who came in another car.
According to Ms Nipapat, Ms Jip borrowed her car to cross the border to visit the Phaya Tongsu market in Myanmar in the morning. In the afternoon, Ms Jip came back, returned the Toyota Vios to her and drove back home in her Mitsubishi Mirage.
Ms Nipapat claimed she did not know the drugs had been hidden in her car until it was searched at the checkpoint.
Police were looking for Ms Jip.
Col Pichet Hasadeepong, deputy commander of the Lat Ya Task Force, said the seized crystal methamphetamine, produced in neighbouring Myanmar, would fetch as much as 15 million baht if it was successfully brought into the inner part of the country.
This was the biggest drug haul ever to have been seized at this checkpoint, he said.
