More than 21,000 suspects were arrested and 1.6 million speed pills and other kinds of drugs seized in a nationwide police crackdowns on drugs from Dec 21-Jan 5, Pol Gen Wichean Potephosree said on Friday.
The national police chief said police searched 4,655 communities nationwide suspected of being infested with drugs and arrested 21,130 suspects for drug offences.
The police seized more than 1.6 million methamphetamine pills, known colloquially as yaba (mad pills), 295kg of marijuana, 8.5kg of ice or crystalised methamphetamine, and heroin.
Pol Gen Wichean told a press conference that five suspected dealers were arrested in four major cases.
One of them was Pol Sr Sgt-Maj Pairote, a former officer of Samsen police station in Bangkok who was dismissed from the service in October last year for involvement in drugs.
He was arrested on Phetkasem road in Phetchaburi’s Ban Lat district with 120,000 speed pills hidden in a false compartment in his car.
Two others were women of Burmese origin, Patcharee Lertluangchai and Orn Saengwong, who were arrested with 300,000 methamphetamine pills in Pathum Thani.
The fourth was Pornchai Sapperm, 25, who was arresed with 100,000 speed pills at a patrol station in Lat Phrao area.
The fifth was Saeng Chaiwong, 25, who was arrested in Muang district of Chiang Mai with 3,000 speed pills.
Pol Gen Wichean said most of the drugs were smuggled across the border into northern Thailand before being distributed throughout the country.
