Police seized more than a million meth pills in a high-speed chase in northern Thailand.

Officers were patrolling for drug drops when they spotted a white truck 'driving suspiciously' through Chiang Mai province on November 11.

When police tried to make a traffic stop, the truck driver was said to have sped away, sparking a frantic chase through the Mae Taeng District

Dashcam footage shows the dramatic pursuit as the truck fled along an empty motorway at night. It raced away but crashed on the roadside at 11 pm local time.

Police inspected the vehicle and found hidden compartments in the cargo container containing some 1.43 million meth pills.

The driver Surachet his girlfriend Orathai were detained.

Police Lieutenant General Archayon Kraithong, Commander of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said: 'During questioning, Mr. Surachet claimed he had been hired by a friend in a drug trafficking network to collect narcotics in Mae Taeng District and transport them to the south.

'He said he had scouted the area beforehand, and after completing the route survey, they began moving the drugs to a southern network. They were supposed to be paid after finishing the job, but were arrested before they could do so. Authorities are now widening the investigation to identify the network behind the operation and will seek a court warrant for the alleged mastermind.'

The narcotics chief added that an additional 2.1 million meth pills were seized in Ban Mae O village in the same province.

The illegal haul was hidden in 11 sacks concealed beneath piles of dry branches within Sri Lanna National Park.

Several villagers being investigated on suspicion of allowing their properties to be used as storage for drugs, police said.

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.

However, cracking down on drug production has been complicated by the influx of crime gangs from China and the Burmese civil war, which has seen the army take over the country - along with control of lucrative drugs chains.