Five Arrested After 528kg Ice Haul Worth Over 50 Million Baht
Five Arrested After 528kg Ice Haul Worth Over 50 Million Baht
BANGKOK, 4 August 2026 — Thai authorities have arrested five people and seized approximately 528 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, during an anti-drug operation in Chaiyaphum province, officials said.
The narcotics, estimated to be worth more than 50 million baht, were allegedly being transported from Tha Li district in Loei province to Wang Noi district in Ayutthaya.
The operation was conducted on Aug. 3 as part of Chaiyaphum province’s “Phaya Lae City Protection” initiative and the government’s 90-day anti-drug campaign.
According to officials, local authorities received intelligence from the Non Samran subdistrict headman and officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), who had been tracking a suspected drug shipment travelling from Loei.
Territorial Defence Volunteers, narcotics officers and police from Ban Khai Police Station established a checkpoint in Ban Don Khwang, Muang Chaiyaphum district, where they intercepted a white Nissan X-Trail bearing Udon Thani registration plates.
A search of the vehicle uncovered 18 sacks containing Chinese tea packages used to conceal the drugs. Officials said each sack contained 30 one-kilogramme bags of crystal methamphetamine, totalling approximately 528 kilogrammes.
Three suspects, believed to have been acting as lookouts in a lead vehicle, were immediately detained.
The two remaining suspects, who allegedly drove the vehicle carrying the drugs, abandoned the SUV and fled into nearby farmland, triggering a large-scale search involving provincial security officials, Territorial Defence Volunteers, police, village chiefs and local security teams.
At around 9:30 a.m., authorities located and arrested both fugitives while they were hiding in a sugarcane field in Ban Don Khwang village.
Initial investigations identified all five suspects as residents of Udon Thani province. Authorities said they are believed to be members of a major drug trafficking network.
Police said the suspects allegedly admitted they had been hired to transport the drugs in exchange for 500,000 baht.
They have been charged with importing and distributing a Category 1 narcotic and were handed over, together with the seized evidence, to investigators from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau for further legal proceedings and an expanded investigation into the trafficking network.
