Five people suspected of transporting methamphetamines were killed following exchanges of fire with the Thai army near the border with Burma, an incident recurring in recent weeks, the military announced on Friday.
“We are safe and sound but six suspected traffickers have lost their lives, said the special military detachment of Pha Muang which monitors several border areas.
The army opened fire in response to shots from a group of “15 to 20 suspicious men”, who had refused to be searched. The shooting lasted regarding ten minutes, she said.
The soldiers found 300 kilograms of ketamine, an anesthetic with psychedelic effects increasingly used as a drug, distributed in 19 backpacks abandoned at the scene.
Three rifles and four cell phones were also recovered.
In the same province of Chiang Mai, in early December, the Thai military killed fifteen people suspected of smuggling crystal methamphetamine from Burma.
Le Journal Le Quebec
