PUBLISHED : 22 Dec 2023 at 04:00
Chiang Mai: Two suspected drug smugglers were killed during an exchange of gunfire with army rangers along the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Ai district early yesterday.
At least 2 million speed pills were seized following the gunfight, officials said.
A patrol from the Pha Muang task force earlier spotted a group of about 20 men carrying modified rucksacks through a forested area in tambon Malika of Mae Ai at about 4.50am.
As the men were acting suspiciously, the soldiers asked them to stop for a search, but the group responded with gunfire.
The soldiers returned fire, and the exchange continued for about 20 minutes before the shooting stopped. The soldiers were unhurt and sealed off the area.
At dawn, more troops arrived, and they began searching the clash scene and surrounding areas. They found the bodies of two men: one at the scene of the shooting and the other about a kilometre away in a corn plantation.
Thirteen rucksacks, each containing between 100,000 and 200,000 speed pills, were found scattered across the area.
Soldiers continued to search the area for more drugs that the fleeing smugglers might have abandoned.
The shootout was the second in the North in less than a week. On Sunday, 15 drug smugglers were killed during a clash with soldiers from the Pha Muang task force in Mae Fa Luang district in Chiang Rai. Almost 2 million speed pills were seized.