Police seized 1.4 tonnes of methamphetamine from drug smugglers in northern Thailand.

Border Patrol Police and the Royal Thai Paramilitary Force arrested four men allegedly transporting the chemical substance from neighbouring Laos into the Thai province of Nong Khai.

The suspects - identified as Prasit Setsom, 53, Prato Roisang, 48, Niyom Borabut, 54, and Sarawut Borabut, 39 - were said to have delivered the contraband across the Mekong River, before storing the drugs in Sarawut's home on May 8.

Lieutenant General Adul Boonthamcharoen, commander of the 2nd Army Area, said in a May 10 press conference that officers had arranged the raid after learning of the meth shipment on May 4.

He said: 'All four men were arrested, while 198 bricks of crystal methamphetamine weighing 1,404 kilogrammes were seized.

'We also confiscated a Toyota Fortuner car, two motorcycles, a Kubota tractor, a house with 69 square wah of land, and a bank account with over two million THB (43,400 GBP).'

The seized properties were worth around 7.5 million THB (163,000 GBP), while the drugs had an estimated street value of worth 2.5 billion THB (54 million GBP).

Prasit allegedly confessed that he was in touch with someone from Laos to smuggle meth into Thailand. He claimed the group stored the drugs in the hut to be distributed across the country or abroad.

All suspects and seized properties were handed over to the Nangiew Police Station for legal action.

Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug production and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.

Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.