BANGKOK : Thai authorities intercepted more than one and a half tonnes of crystal methamphetamine in a record seizure of the illegal drug, senior narcotic officials said on Monday ( Jan 20 ).
The drag – which officials said had been sent from Africa via India and was bound for Europe, the United States or Australia – was found at a inventory in Bangkok following a tip-off.
Four people were arrested at the field.
At the storehouse, authorities found glass heroin weighing around 1. 65 kilograms hidden in cloth floats, according to Phanurat Lukboon, the director general of the Office of the Narcotic Control Board.
” It is the first day we have seized such a large number of mdma,” Phanurat told AFP.
Authorities declined to say how much the drag was for but a one-tonne arrest of crystal meth in May last month had a street price of US$ 25 million.
The country is a significant transit route for illegal medication produced in the” Golden Triangle” region where northeastern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.
Methamphetamine is normally consumed in two forms: either in crystals ( “Ice” ) or tablets which are generally less pure called “yaba” and more commonly taken in Thailand.
Myanmar is a major cause of meth, much of it produced in improper laboratory in border areas controlled by ethnic minority armed groups.
A report quantity of mdma was seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023 as organised crime groups boosted output, according to the United Nations.