Police have seized 1.84 million speed pills worth about 10 million baht from a rented house in Don Chedi district of Suphan Buri, following an investigation that began with the arrest of a drug user found carrying 10 speed pills.
Officers from the Suphan Buri Provincial Police Office and investigators from Don Chedi police station and the provincial investigation unit raided the house in tambon Nong Sarai at about 10pm on Thursday.
During the search, the officers discovered about 1.84 million speed pills concealed inside fertiliser sacks hidden in a bathroom. No occupants were found at the property during the search.
Suphan Buri governor Nattapong Sanguanchit later visited the scene to inspect the seizure. He said the operation was the result of close cooperation between the provincial administration and provincial police in expanding investigations into narcotics trafficking networks.
Pol Maj Gen Watcharin Prasopdee, commander of Suphan Buri Provincial Police, who led the raid, said the investigation began when Don Chedi patrol officers arrested a drug user in possession of 10 speed pills. Questioning of the suspect led investigators to another suspect found with 9,800 pills.
Further investigation eventually led officers to the rented house, where they uncovered the major cache of 1.84 million pills. Police believed the property was being used as a temporary storage site by a drug trafficking network before the narcotics were distributed.
Investigators also found many drug packages stamped with a Pikachu cartoon logo, which police believed was used as an identifying mark for the shipment. The same symbol has previously appeared on speed pill packages circulating in Suphan Buri.
Pol Maj Gen Wacharin said the seizure marked the first time in the past three years that Suphan Buri provincial police had expanded an investigation from the minor drug arrest to a seizure involving more than 1 million methamphetamine pills.
Police have identified the tenant of the property and were gathering evidence to seek an arrest warrant from the court. Investigators were continuing to expand the probe.
