NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Nine people have been arrested and 1.6 tonnes of crystal methamphetamines seized as it was being loaded on a boat to be smuggled out of the country, the Office of Narcotics Control Board said on Sunday.
The operation took place at Mai Khao pier in Tha Sala district, with the help of local police.
The suspects were arrested as they were unloading 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth from two vehicles. The drugs, they told police, were to be loaded into a boat, destined for other countries.
A source said the suspects’ network had smuggled massive amounts of drugs out of the country at least three times previously.
The crackdown was launched after local authorities received a tip-off from the country the drugs were destined for, saying a large amount of crystal meth was going to be smuggled from the pier.
The network chose to carry out the attempt right before election day, on the assumption that local authorities would be preoccupied securing election facilities, the ONCB said.
The investigation was being expanded to track down other members of the network. Police were collecting evidence from the boat in the hope of finding clues that would lead them to other suspects.