Fifteen suspected drug smugglers were killed and about 2 million methamphetamine tablets were seized in northern Thailand near the Myanmar border after a shootout with Thai soldiers, Thai officials said.
The clash, which occurred Saturday night, came after the local army received a tip that there would be smuggling activity near the border in Chiang Rai province, said Phanurat Lukboon, acting secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.
Officers found a group of about 20 people carrying backpacks in the area, Phanurat said on Sunday. After the officers identified themselves and asked to inspect the bags, the group began shooting at them, he added.
The clash lasted around 15 minutes and the Thai officers were all safe, Phanurat said while on a visit to the site where the incident occurred. He thanked the officers for their help in “preventing these awful things from entering our country and destroying our youth.”
Seventeen backpacks made from fertilizer sacks were found with the suspected smugglers and more than 2 million methamphetamine pills were inside the bags, officials said.
No arrests were made and officials were still working to identify the 15 people killed in the clash and the origin of the drugs, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.
On Wednesday, Thailand announced it had seized 50 million methamphetamine tablets in the western province of Kanchanaburi, also near the Myanmar border. It was said to be a record haul of the drug in the country.