Soldiers seized 379lbs of drugs labelled 'Porsche' after a gunfight with suspected smugglers along the northern border of Thailand.

The force intercepted several 'suspicious' individuals walking through a forest in Chiang Rai province bordering Myanmar at around 3:54 am on November 7.

When ordered to halt for a search, the suspects allegedly opened fire on the troops before escaping. The clash was said to have lasted five minutes with no officers injured.

Colonel Meechai Nillasart, deputy commander of the Pha Muang Task Force responsible for heading off the influx of illegal drugs through Thailand's northern border, said the alleged smugglers left behind 11 bags containing 379lbs of meth and ketamine.

The hard drugs were reportedly concealed in tea bags stamped with 'Porsche', a wolf, a dragon, and a tiger logo.

Major General Kittakorn Chantra, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said they have successfully intercepted 51 drug smuggling attempts and arrested 69 suspects since October.

He said: 'The areas with the most drug cases are still the borders of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. If the drugs had reached Thailand, they would have caused economic damage worth more than 2.7 billion baht (61 million GBP).'

On September 5, the task force also seized drugs labelled with the Manchester United logo following a shootout with suspected smugglers in the same province.

Anucha Chaiyawong, director of law enforcement at the Narcotics Control Office Region 5, had previously in June said: 'The printing of football team logos is likely due to manufacturing orders by drug dealers in each batch. 

'Previously, we discovered other peculiar logos on drug shipments, such as Y1, Apple, or Lexus.'

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.

Bloomberg citing data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that a record 169 tonnes of methamphetamine was seized in SEA last year, 82 per cent of which came from the Golden Triangle.

At its heart lies the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), run by Chinese business tycoon and suspected crime boss Zhao Wei in the Chinese vassal state Laos.

In 2007, Zhao brokered a deal with the Laos government and obtained a 99-year lease to build the zone on a 39-square mile patch of impoverished Bokeo province.

The Chinese businessman claims to be a benefactor as he touts the GTSEZ as a tourist and economic hub designed to bring more income and investments into the country. However, both local and international law enforcement agencies believe it is a front for organised crime, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, and call-centre scams.

International authorities have struggled to take down the gambling empire as the Laos government itself is said to be protecting the GTSEZ, in which it has a 20 per cent stake.

(1 GBP = 44.24 THB)