October 25, 2013
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities had arrested three suspects and confiscated 5.3 million tablets of methamphetamine in one of the largest such seizures in the country in recent years, police said Friday.
The narcotics suppression police arrested a suspected drug dealer Thursday night with 3 million methamphetamine pills in Petchabun province in Thailand's upper central. It was a follow-up to a bust last Friday that saw two other members of the same drug network arrested and 2.3 million tablets nabbed, police Gen. Somyot Pumpanmuang said.
Authorities said the drugs were originally from Myanmar and were smuggled in Thailand's northeast through Laos. They were destined for clients in Bangkok and neighboring provinces.
"This network of drug dealers has thorough connections, a lot of men in the field and has strong financial support, so they bring in millions of tablets each time," Somyot said.
Thailand is a leading market and transit point for methamphetamine, much of which is produced in neighboring Myanmar.
