Maj Gen Nantadet Yoinuan, Deputy Chief Region 8 Police, which are headquartered at the northern end of Phuket, made the announcement at Krabi Provincial Police Station yesterday (Nov 25).
Region 8 Police are responsible for overseeing police activities in the seven Southern Thailand provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Chumphon, Surat Thani and Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
Maj Gen Nantadet explained that the raids, carried out from Nov 19-22, resulted in the arrests of nine suspects and the seizure of 400,576 ya bah pills, 24.6 grams of crystal meth (ya ice), four firearms and 29 rounds of ammunition.
Maj Gen Nantadet said the first arrest was of Chalermwut Chantra, 36, who was arrested at a house in Moo 8, Khao Phanom, Krabi. A subsequent search of another house in the neighbouring Moo 9 village found 38 meth pills, a homemade gun with three rounds of ammunition as well as seven .45-calibre bullets.
The next person arrested was Rungnapa Kalong, 23, who was found with 150 ya bah pills at a house in Moo 2, Nuea Klong, Maj Gen Nantadet explained.
Those arrests led to police taking into custody Nattapong Tikkhana, 30, and Sukanya Namwong, 27, at a location in the Nuea Khlong area with 31 ya bah pills, 18.61g of crystal meth, one firearm, seven .32-calibre bullets.
In making the arrests police also seized two mobile phones, a Honda Civic car, one golden necklace, a bracelet, a ring and B36,000 in cash, Maj Gen Nantadet noted.
Maj Gen Nantadet explained that Nattapong and Sukanya were suspected of having direct connections with major drug dealers in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
Police ordered the two to contact their network, resulting in the arrests of Thana Inthornnarong, 21, Watcharapong Sakjiraphaphong, 27, and Watthana Kamin, 24, at a house in Moo 7, in Tambon Khao Phra of in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Phipun District.
The three were arrested with 575 ya bah pills, 5.99g of ya ice, two .38-calibre fireams with 12 bullets. Also seized were five mobile phones.
Those arrests led to the big catch – Supoj Raksachan, 46, and Ampornrat Sa-nguansak, 41 – who were arrested at a house in Tambon Wang Hin, in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Bang Khan District, Maj Gen Nantadet said.
Supoj and Ampornrat were found with 400,000 ya bah pills, he said.
In arresting Supoj and Ampornrat, police also seized one mobile phone one Toyota Yaris car and one Toyota Fortuner, he added.
All nine suspects arrested in the raids were taken to local police stations and charged, Maj Gen Nantadet concluded.