Mae ai: Paramilitary rangers intercepted a drug trafficking gang belonging to the “Chalobo” network. Border patrol soldiers engaged in a gun battle with a drug trafficking gang carrying backpacks from a neighboring country into Mae Ai district, intending to deliver drugs to drug dealers on the Thai side.
According to Thai News Agency, the Border Patrol Command, 3rd Army Area Operations Center, Pha Muang Task Force, received intelligence that a group was smuggling narcotics from Myanmar across the border into Thailand, opposite Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai Province. Last night, a group of 3-5 drug smugglers was detected in a natural passageway at Ban Pang Nai, Village 1, Mali Ka Subdistrict, Mae Ai District. When a patrol team signaled for their presence for a search, the group opened fire with unknown firearms, resulting in a gunfight lasting approximately 3 minutes.
After the gunfire ceased, a search revealed a long trail of blood near a tree, suggesting the injured members of the insurgent group had escaped. Authorities found two backpacks: the first contained 150,000 methamphetamine pills, and the second 148,000 pills, totaling nearly 300,000 pills. Preliminary investigations suggest the drugs belong to the network of “Jalobo,” a former deputy commander of the 171st Military District, of Wa ethnicity. The drugs were believed to have been smuggled from Ban Punakho, Muang Sad District, Myanmar, and transported along a route to a temporary staging area in Ban Huay Ha, Muang Sad District, a Lahu settlement, before being illegally smuggled into Thailand through the mountainous terrain via Ban Pang Nai, Mali Ka Subdistrict, Mae Ai District. The seized drugs were handed over to Mae Ai Police Station for further investigation.