KHON KAEN: A man was arrested with 720,000 methamphetamine pills in possession after a chase by highway police in Nong Song Hong district on Sunday morning, police said.
Pol Col Anurat Chimthim, commander of Highway Police Division 4, said at about 5am highway police on patrol spotted a black Mitsubishi Attrage car running on Highway 2440 (Phon-Nong Song Hong) in a suspicious manner.
They sent a signal for the car to stop for a search, but the car sped away, prompting the police to give chase.
The car veered of the road and crashed into the ditch between kilometre markers 14-14 in tambon Dong Kheng, Nong Song Hong district.
Padol Thamsilp, 21, the car driver, from Kuchinarai district, Kalasin province, was trapped in the vehicle with minor injuries.
The police found in the car 122 packages of about 720,000 meth pills.
The man allegedly confessed to have taken the drugs from That Phanom districit, Nakhon Phanom province. He said he was hired for 20,000 baht to drive the car loaded with the drugs to a receiver in Khon Kaen’s Nong Song Hong district. He had been paid 5,000 baht and would get the rest on completing the job.
Mr Padol was charged with having illicit drugs in possession with intent to sell.
An investigation was underway to find more people involved in the drug trade, Pol Col Anurat said.