Thai troops seized more than four million methamphetamine pills following a gunfight with suspected drug smugglers near the country's border with Myanmar.

The Pha Muang Task Force intercepted the alleged trafficking convoy while monitoring the border at Chiang Rai province on September 15.

Soldiers spotted around 15 to 20 men hauling sacks through the rugged terrain. When officers identified themselves and demanded to search the bags, the traffickers reportedly opened fire, sparking a five-minute gunfight.

No soldiers were injured, and reinforcements were sent to secure the area after the suspects retreated.

Authorities found 15 sacks stuffed with an estimated 4.3 million methamphetamine pills. The haul was taken to the Mae Fa Luang Police Station for inspection and legal proceedings.

Colonel Anuwat Panyanan, commander of Task Force Chao Taksin, inspected the illegal haul with police and local officials the next morning.

Major General Kidakorn Chantra, head of the Pha Muang Task Force assigned to patrol the border, has urged troops to remain vigilant as traffickers may exploit poor weather to smuggle narcotics across the border.

Chiang Rai province sits along the Golden Triangle, where most of Southeast Asia's meth supply comes from.

The region is found where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet but it has long been a feral nest of criminal activity, including opium production, meth labs and call centre scam bases.

At the heart of the Golden Triangle lies the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), run by notorious Chinese business tycoon and suspected crime boss Zhao Wei in the Chinese vassal state Laos. Communist chiefs are said to turn a Nelsonian eye to his wrongdoing.

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.