Thai soldiers seized 245 kilogrammes (540 pounds) of meth in a gunfight with suspected drug smugglers along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Officers were patrolling a frontier village when they spotted a group of eight to 10 individuals lugging 'suspicious' sacks through a rice field in Chiang Rai province on the evening of January 7.

As the troops approached to conduct a search, the group allegedly opened fire, sparking a five-minute shootout in the darkness.

The alleged smugglers then fled the scene, leaving their illegal haul behind.

The Thap Chao Tak Task Force secured the area the following morning and discovered 200 blocks of crystal meth hidden in 10 bags.

One suspect, a Burmese national named Joi, was detained while hiding near the site of the gunfight. He allegedly confessed to being one of the drug traffickers.

Colonel Suphan Roiphut, commander of the Thap Chao Tak Task Force, said: 'We believed the drug trafficking ring was trying to smuggle drugs into the country ahead of the tourism high season.

'I have instructed all units to increase vigilance in intercepting drug trafficking along natural routes and to expedite the investigation and find those behind the smuggling operation.'

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 the 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 drug chains.