Highway police seized meth pills worth 3.4 million GBP from a suspected drug trafficker in Thailand.

The Central Investigation Bureau detained truck driver Wittaya, 46, while he was transporting a shipment of meth along Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon province on November 25.

Police intercepted his 10-wheeler and discovered five million meth pills in the back of the vehicle.

Police Colonel Phatrawut Onchuai, chief of the Crime Suppression Sub-division 5, said: ‘During a brief interrogation, the suspect admitted to all charges. He testified that he had been hired to transport methamphetamine pills six times since October. He earned 150,000 to 200,000 baht each time, depending on the amount of drugs he delivered to his network in the southern region.'

Wittaya was charged with possessing Category I narcotics for sale. His arrest is linked to an earlier drug bust in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, where two suspects were caught smuggling 13 million meth pills on September 30.

Authorities expanded the investigation and found that the traffickers were part of a large syndicate with clear divisions of duties, including supervisors, warehouse handlers, and couriers making deliveries to northern and southern Thailand.

Wittaya was identified as one of the alleged drug transporters in the network. On the day of his arrest, he was found driving out of a warehouse in Nonthaburi province. Highway police followed him and arrested him along Rama II Road.

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.

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

According to Thai law, carrying Category I drugs, including LSD and ecstasy, for 'disposal or possession for the purpose of disposal', has a maximum punishment of the death sentence or life in prison. The most severe punishments are reserved for those who 'produce of import' the substances, while simply possessing the drugs can land offenders in jail for up to 10 years.

Dealing the lesser Category 2 drugs, which include cocaine and ketamine, can carry a life sentence while possession alone has a punishment of five years.