Thai police discover 700kg of M'sia bound 'Ice'

BANGKOK: Authorities at the Malaysia-Thai border need to keep an eye on vehicles transporting mouth-watering fruits.
This is after Thai police uncovered yet another attempt by drug syndicates to smuggle 700kg of "Ice" (Crystal Methaphetamine) worth millions of ringgit into Malaysia using a lorry transporting pineapples and watermelons .
Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) head Lt Gen Sommai Kongvisaisuk said the Thai-registered lorry was stopped at one of the security checkpoints in Chumphon, southern Thailand about 1.30am (local time) today.
"Upon checking the lorry, the officers were surprised to discover 700kg of "Ice" hidden among hundreds of pineapples and watermelons stuffed inside the lorry," he told Bernama here today, adding that the lorry driver has been detained for further questioning by the police.
He said, the drugs originated from northern Thailand and were heading to Malaysia where it probably would be exported to other destinations, where the "Ice" could fetch a higher price.

Sommai did not provide any more details about the early morning drugs bust but the authorities believed the 700kg "Ice" seizure in Chumphon stood out as among their biggest achievements this year.
Transporting drugs in a lorry transporting fruits or agriculture produce has become one of the favoured tactics used by the drug syndicates lately.
In January this year, Thai police intercepted a lorry in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand and discovered 300kg of "Ice" hidden among hundreds of watermelons inside the southern Thailand-bound vehicle.
The NSB also believed the drugs would be smuggled across the border into Malaysia after reaching southern Thailand.
In June last year, Thai authorities stopped a lorry transporting hundreds of durians in Hatyai and discovered 306kg of cannabis (ganja) hidden among the "King of Fruits", which they believed were bound for Malaysia.
The syndicates, according to officers, wanted to take advantage of the pungent smell emanated by the durians to ward off close inspection from the authorities. — Bernama