Thai authorities arrested a 39-year-old man over the weekend after seizing 1.6 tonnes of ketamine and crystal methamphetamine buried beneath bags of cabbages in a pickup truck at a petrol station in central Ayutthaya province.
Police uncovered 900 kilograms of ketamine and 700 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in hidden packages during a routine stop on Saturday.
The driver confessed to being hired for 100,000 baht ($3,000) to transport the consignment, facing drug trafficking charges punishable by 15 years to life imprisonment.
Officers suspect the narcotics originated from a neighbouring country, though details remain undisclosed.
Thailand serves as a key transit and destination hub for methamphetamine flowing from Myanmar, with police routinely targeting heroin and meth networks across Southeast Asia.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported a record 236 tonnes of methamphetamine seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2024, up 24 percent from the prior year, led by Thailand’s hauls.
