Troops, from the Pha Muang Task Force in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai, seized about 450kg of crystal methamphetamine, or ‘Ice’, from two drug caravans, following two clashes near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Fa Luang and Mae Sai districts on Friday.
In the first incident, while on routine patrol near the Ruak River in Mae Sai district on Friday morning, the forces came across a group of about 10 armed men, thought to be a drug caravan.
The troops ordered the men to stop, but they were shot at, prompting a brief fire fight. The intruders then abandoned their backpacks and fled the scene. A subsequent search of the backpacks uncovered about 200kg of Ice.
The second clash took place late Friday night, near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Fah Luang sub-district, when troops stumbled upon another drug caravan and engaged in a brief gun fight. The intruders, believed to be members of a hill tribe, fled back across the border, leaving behind their backpacks, which were found to contain about 250kg of Ice.
