Eight drug runners killed in Chiang Rai gunfight

Soldiers inspect a rucksack containing packages of illegal drugs left at the scene of a gunfight along the Myanmar border in Mae Fa Luang district of Chiang Rai. Eight suspected smugglers were killed in a gunfight at the scene. (Photo: Thai News Agency Facebook page)

Eight suspected drug smugglers were killed and about one million speed pills seized following an exchange of gunfire along the Thailand-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai late Friday night.

Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force were sent to patrol the border area in Mae Fa Luang district following a tip-off that a gang would attempt to smuggle drugs from the Myanmar side, Thai media reported.