More than 300 officers from Thailand's Narcotics Suppression Bureau have searched 20 locations in Huay Yai, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi, in an operation targeting drug dealers linked to an eastern trafficking network.
The raids, which also covered nearby areas, were led by Police Lieutenant General Acharayon Kraithong, commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. Senior commanders, deputy commissioners and bureau officers also took part in the operation, named "Restoring Safety to Communities in Chonburi Province".
Police said the searches were aimed at disrupting drug distribution networks and improving public safety in Huay Yai and the wider eastern region.
Network tracked since October 2025
The operation followed an investigation into a drug transport network described by police as the "Eastern Pilot Gang", which officers have been tracking since October 2025.
According to investigators, the network allegedly moved narcotics from neighbouring countries through northern and north-eastern Thailand. Drugs were then reportedly stored in central provinces including Ayutthaya, Saraburi and Prachin Buri before being supplied to smaller dealers in the East, particularly Chonburi.
Police said previous interceptions and follow-up investigations connected to the network had resulted in six drug cases, with 16 suspects arrested.
Across those cases, officers seized more than 20 million methamphetamine tablets and a combined 3.3 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known in Thailand as ice.
Two alleged dealers arrested
Intelligence suggested that Huay Yai still had mid-level and small-scale dealers operating in the area, including some former prisoners allegedly involved in narcotics and other crime, police said.
Officers from several Narcotics Suppression Bureau units, including the special Sayob Phairi operational team, simultaneously surrounded and searched the 20 targets.
In the initial results, police said they arrested two alleged small-scale dealers and seized unspecified quantities of methamphetamine tablets and ice. Assets believed to be connected with offences were frozen for legal action.
Wider crackdown in eastern Thailand
Police said the Huay Yai operation forms part of a broader policy to disrupt narcotics networks from supply routes through to street-level distribution, while improving safety in Chonburi and other eastern provinces.
Pictures courtesy of ฉลาม นิวส์
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8 August 2026
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