Six armed drug traffickers killed in clash in Thailand

[webfact]

Six armed drug traffickers killed in clash



CHIANG RAI: -- A combined force of border, provincial police and soldiers clashed with armed drug caravan near the Burmese border in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province before dawn Saturday.

Six Muser hill tribe traffickers were shot dead and almost a million methamphetamine pills were seized.

Before the fierce clash, border police received a tip-off from local people of an attempt by a drug trafficking gang of the drug lord Col Yi Ze to smuggle methamphetamines across the border to Mae Sai district.

All border checkpoints were alerted, and a combined force was formed to intercept the drug caravan at suspected border areas.

The drug caravan was spotted on a hilly jungle path at Ban Pamee village opposite Doi Sampee hill of Myanmar before daybreak.

In a close encounter, shooting broke out and died down an hour later.

Six bodies of the drug traffickers were found scattered in the fighting area along with seven back packs.

The back packs were filled with 840,000 methamphetamine pills.

Authorities said some traffickers have managed to escape with a number of drugs and some were also injured.

A shotgun and a revolver were seized from some of the killed traffickers.

The drugs were believed to belong to Col Yi Ze, the most wanted drug warlord by Thai narcotic suppression authorities.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/six-armed-drug-traffickers-killed-clash/


-- Thai PBS 2014-03-08

[webfact]

Six drug suspects killed in Thailand

BANGKOK, March 8, 2014 (AFP) - Six suspected drug dealers were shot dead during a firefight with Thai security forces who seized illegal amphetamines at the scene, police said Saturday.

The clash occurred late Friday evening in a mountainous border area in the Mae Sai district of northernmost Chiang Rai province -- part of the Golden Triangle region.

"Six bodies were found at clash site along with seven bags of methamphetamines," Colonel Nattawut Yuwan, commander of the Mae Sai police, told AFP by telephone.

"We suspect they were hilltribe (Muser) people," he said, adding the suspects had been travelling by foot and the clash happened quite close to the border with Myanmar.

There were no reports of any casualties among security forces.

Clashes between police and drug traffickers are fairly common in Thailand's remote border regions.

Thailand has seen a marked increase in seizures of methamphetamine -- which is relatively cheap and easy to make -- often smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar where armed rebels use profits from narcotics to fund their operations.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-03-08

[JeremyBowskill]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

[Fat Haggis]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

It's the same the world over, nobody has beaten nor won a war on drugs, even the mighty USA..

It's all about supply and demand, and it seems like the demand never diminishes.. Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death !!

[kurtgruen]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

It's the same the world over, nobody has beaten nor won a war on drugs, even the mighty USA..

It's all about supply and demand, and it seems like the demand never diminishes.. Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death !!

Yeah, shot 'em. Why should the tax payer pay to keep these scumbags in jail and pay for their trail, security, etc. Their actions kill people and create misery every day. We are not talking about weed here. Amphetamines are one of the most harmful, illegal drugs out there. If given a chance, this drug would destroy a big part of Thai society.

Kill 'em all - Let God sort 'em out!

[PatOngo]

Six armed drug traffickers killed in clash

Is the man from Dubai back????

[fab4]

Six armed drug traffickers killed in clash

Is the man from Dubai back????

Well done patongo, 5 posts before someone got a Thaksin reference in. Remarkable restraint.

Edited March 8, 2014 by fab4

[Noi657]

Drug traffickers killed! Oh well never mind... Move on!

[ChrisY1]

A serious haul....

The guys were no doubt simple drug mules, but anyway...no longer!

Good work to the Thai Security people...(they must have employed some-one that can shoot straight!)

[beenhere2long]

fat haggis.... Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death ??..............<deleted>...how do you know they are not some piss poor farmer with no other choice but to hump drugs to earn a crust to feed there family..the scum are the mr big's who funny enough NEVER get brought to book..

[kurtgruen]

Six armed drug traffickers killed in clash

Is the man from Dubai back????

No, but I think his son is still in the Country ;-)

[Fat Haggis]

fat haggis.... Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death ??..............<deleted>...how do you know they are not some piss poor farmer with no other choice but to hump drugs to earn a crust to feed there family..the scum are the mr big's who funny enough NEVER get brought to book..

Because piss poor innocent farmers don't tend to be armed!!!!

[speedtripler]

A serious haul....

The guys were no doubt simple drug mules, but anyway...no longer!

Good work to the Thai Security people...(they must have employed some-one that can shoot straight!)

where are the guns the drug runners had and why is there no pic of someone pointing at them ?

surely they wouldnt have executed 6 unarmed drug runners for not paying the appropiate tea money ?

[Crushdepth]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

It's the same the world over, nobody has beaten nor won a war on drugs, even the mighty USA..

It's all about supply and demand, and it seems like the demand never diminishes.. Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death !!

Yeah, shot 'em. Why should the tax payer pay to keep these scumbags in jail and pay for their trail, security, etc. Their actions kill people and create misery every day. We are not talking about weed here. Amphetamines are one of the most harmful, illegal drugs out there. If given a chance, this drug would destroy a big part of Thai society.

Kill 'em all - Let God sort 'em out!

Since there will be no trial we will never know whether they were drug dealers or not. Given the pathetic state of governance in Thailand, I'd prefer people were taken alive and given their day in court. 2,500 Thai citizens were executed in the last "war on drugs" and according to Amnesty about half of those were thought not to have any links to the drug trade whatsoever, they were just people the police found inconvenient for one reason or another (wow, imagine that, what a surprise).

And guess who has a big hand in the drug trade...let me put it this way, they are overjoyed at opportunities to rub out their competitors.

[squarethecircle]

Kind of wild that this still happens close to civilized Mae Sai. There are literally hundreds of miles of remote border going west and south of there through Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. They could also go through the Laos side which is likewise much more remote than Mae Sai. So it puzzles me why they would still try to go through a relatively densely patrolled area. One speculation: that part of Shan State across from the Thai border is under rebel army (United Wa State Army) control, and not by friendly people.

It'd be interesting to get the full story on this, devil though it may be. It's reportedly produced in rebel/mafia-controlled areas along the Myanmar/Chinese border. Hence the "Chinese" look to the packaging.

[beenhere2long]

fat haggis.... Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death ??..............<deleted>...how do you know they are not some piss poor farmer with no other choice but to hump drugs to earn a crust to feed there family..the scum are the mr big's who funny enough NEVER get brought to book..

Because piss poor innocent farmers don't tend to be armed!!!!

are you sure?....ever been up north with the piss poor farmers?..at worst they are mules..NOT SCUM.

[fab4]

Yeah, shot 'em. Why should the tax payer pay to keep these scumbags in jail and pay for their trail, security, etc. Their actions kill people and create misery every day. We are not talking about weed here. Amphetamines are one of the most harmful, illegal drugs out there. If given a chance, this drug would destroy a big part of Thai society.

Kill 'em all - Let God sort 'em out!

Since there will be no trial we will never know whether they were drug dealers or not. Given the pathetic state of governance in Thailand, I'd prefer people were taken alive and given their day in court. 2,500 Thai citizens were executed in the last "war on drugs" and according to Amnesty about half of those were thought not to have any links to the drug trade whatsoever, they were just people the police found inconvenient for one reason or another (wow, imagine that, what a surprise).

And guess who has a big hand in the drug trade...let me put it this way, they are overjoyed at opportunities to rub out their competitors.

No, they weren't. 2500 Thai citizens were not executed in the last "war on drugs". A fallacy taken as "the truth" and inflated and repeated ad nauseam - case in point above.

Police sources stated that there were 2,275 homicides in the two and a half months period, and the media plus HRW etc stated these were all drug related deaths, which is ridiculous.

Police figures never stated that 2,275 were killed directly by the police or as a total figure in the “war on drugs”. It is simply the total number of homicides for the 2 and a half months. So for HRW’s figure of 2,275 to be correct it would mean

(a) that there were non-drug related homicides in Thailand in that period, and

( all drug-related homicides where extra-judicial killings.

The odds of that happening would be astronomical. In which parallel universe would the total homicide rate be seen as the drug-related homicide rate. HRW’s figures are inflated and wrong.

The police said that themselves as the BBC reported:

…only 1,329 Thais died over drugs, arguing that the other 1,300 killings had nothing to do with the illegal trade…

http://asiancorrespondent.com/20660/war-on-drugs/

http://assassinationthaksin.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/thaksins-war-on-drugs/

[Fat Haggis]

fat haggis.... Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death ??..............<deleted>...how do you know they are not some piss poor farmer with no other choice but to hump drugs to earn a crust to feed there family..the scum are the mr big's who funny enough NEVER get brought to book..

Because piss poor innocent farmers don't tend to be armed!!!!

are you sure?....ever been up north with the piss poor farmers?..at worst they are mules..NOT SCUM.

I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and kiddy fiddling ... I think you missed the point that there was a firefight, piss poor farmers who are being used as mules I would presume have no stomach for a fight.. and surrender and sing like canaries as to how they're only doing it to feed their kids.. dude, I've seen parents use their kids as mules to smuggle drugs.

Theses poor "innocent" Farang girls who decide to hide a KG of coke up their snatches and act as as mules/couriers should be pittied by your logic then?

[surangw]

thats 6 that won't bribe their way out of custody and back to the trade. good!

[stargas]

Yeah, shot 'em. Why should the tax payer pay to keep these scumbags in jail and pay for their trail, security, etc. Their actions kill people and create misery every day. We are not talking about weed here. Amphetamines are one of the most harmful, illegal drugs out there. If given a chance, this drug would destroy a big part of Thai society.

Kill 'em all - Let God sort 'em out!

Since there will be no trial we will never know whether they were drug dealers or not. Given the pathetic state of governance in Thailand, I'd prefer people were taken alive and given their day in court. 2,500 Thai citizens were executed in the last "war on drugs" and according to Amnesty about half of those were thought not to have any links to the drug trade whatsoever, they were just people the police found inconvenient for one reason or another (wow, imagine that, what a surprise).

And guess who has a big hand in the drug trade...let me put it this way, they are overjoyed at opportunities to rub out their competitors.

No, they weren't. 2500 Thai citizens were not executed in the last "war on drugs". A fallacy taken as "the truth" and inflated and repeated ad nauseam - case in point above.

Police sources stated that there were 2,275 homicides in the two and a half months period, and the media plus HRW etc stated these were all drug related deaths, which is ridiculous.

Police figures never stated that 2,275 were killed directly by the police or as a total figure in the war on drugs. It is simply the total number of homicides for the 2 and a half months. So for HRWs figure of 2,275 to be correct it would mean

(a) that there were non-drug related homicides in Thailand in that period, and

( all drug-related homicides where extra-judicial killings.

The odds of that happening would be astronomical. In which parallel universe would the total homicide rate be seen as the drug-related homicide rate. HRWs figures are inflated and wrong.

The police said that themselves as the BBC reported:

only 1,329 Thais died over drugs, arguing that the other 1,300 killings had nothing to do with the illegal trade

http://asiancorrespondent.com/20660/war-on-drugs/

Hmmm....who and what to believe?

An avalanche of respected international news providers or two anonymous internet bloggers?

A huge spike in the number of murders committed (2,000 plus) within 75 days that contrasts with 3,000 plus for an entire non-Drug War year, but we are supposed to believe that this wasn't due to Thaksin's Drug War.

Observe the daily news and speaking to locals every day during the entire time of the Drug War or read the musings of anonymous internet forum posters quoting anonymous internet bloggers ten years after the fact?

[geriatrickid]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

Yaba is an addictive drug which causes physical damage to its users. It's manufacture results in the production of toxic waste that is not properly managed. If a business were to sell a product like this, one would expect there to be an intervention. The manner in which the drug cartel operates is to give the drug away for free or at a "below market" price to new users who quickly become addicted, creating a captive market of users. If a business did this, it would be called "predatory dumping" and subject to intervention. The cartel uses the money earned from the trafficking of the drug to corrupt local officials in the government, the judiciary, the police and in the general population as a means to protect the market and grow the profits. As we can see from the ongoing protests in Thailand, the people want an end to corruption. The yaba manufacturers and distributors have no regard for quality assurance or responsible selling practices. If a pharmaceutical company sold its products in this manner, it would be subject to intervention.

The negative impact upon society from users of yaba is significant The general population does not want the yaba product in circulation.

This isn't a "war on drugs". It's all about keeping a greedy and ruthless commercial enterprise from engaging in wrongful acts that directly harm the population. Society doesn't want it from companies offering far less dangerous products, so why should it make an exception here, for a product far more dangerous and harmful? Even if someone waved a magical wand, and made yaba legal tomorrow, the negative impact would remain and would expand to do even more damage. The drug cartel involved in this event is also allegedly involved in the illegal trafficking of protected wildlife, humans, lumber, and extortion. It is hardly a business model worth supporting.

[alfalfa19]

These guys play rough.

[NeverSure]

A shotgun and a revolver. Neither will penetrate a level III armored vest. Neither has a very long range. But a center fire rifle will penetrate the vest and kill, and has a much longer range. So that should be the answer as to why none of the border guards or police were injured.

Not taking sides here, just sayin'.

[JeremyBowskill]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

Yaba is an addictive drug which causes physical damage to its users. It's manufacture results in the production of toxic waste that is not properly managed. If a business were to sell a product like this, one would expect there to be an intervention. The manner in which the drug cartel operates is to give the drug away for free or at a "below market" price to new users who quickly become addicted, creating a captive market of users. If a business did this, it would be called "predatory dumping" and subject to intervention. The cartel uses the money earned from the trafficking of the drug to corrupt local officials in the government, the judiciary, the police and in the general population as a means to protect the market and grow the profits. As we can see from the ongoing protests in Thailand, the people want an end to corruption. The yaba manufacturers and distributors have no regard for quality assurance or responsible selling practices. If a pharmaceutical company sold its products in this manner, it would be subject to intervention.

The negative impact upon society from users of yaba is significant The general population does not want the yaba product in circulation.

This isn't a "war on drugs". It's all about keeping a greedy and ruthless commercial enterprise from engaging in wrongful acts that directly harm the population. Society doesn't want it from companies offering far less dangerous products, so why should it make an exception here, for a product far more dangerous and harmful? Even if someone waved a magical wand, and made yaba legal tomorrow, the negative impact would remain and would expand to do even more damage. The drug cartel involved in this event is also allegedly involved in the illegal trafficking of protected wildlife, humans, lumber, and extortion. It is hardly a business model worth supporting.

I know exactly what the drug is and does and at no point mentioned legalizing it, so am really not sure what your point is....... I have a brother who has been a heroin addict for the best part of 20 years, during which time he has been resuscitated 5 times, been to prison more times than I can remember and got necrotizing fasciitis from sticking dirty needles into sores and nearly died (doctors told my parents t say goodbye as he wasn't supposed to make it through the night). With all that said 50+ years of doing the same thing with the only change being things getting worse, seems absolutely moronic.

[Blackmirage2013]

Good, good.... blow them up. Might serve as a deterrent like CANING or DEATH does in Singapore!!!

[Yunla]

Assuming the drug transporters opened fire first, the police were right to shoot them down, we will never know who fired first. If possible these people should be arrested, jailed for life and give information about the names/locations of the Mister Bigs who run the poisonous business. I would sooner see low level drug-runners put to work digging roads or whatever, than see them wrapped in plastic on day one. But if the drug-runners fired first then I applaud the officers for defending themselves.

Absolute poverty as seen in vast parts of this corner of the globe, makes being a drug transporter seem like a sensible option to many, compared to having nothing. Wage enhancement and improvement of living standards for the underclass, would stop at least many of these people from taking the drug transport option. If they had a decent living wage, many of them would not take these drug-runner risks.

Also treatment of addicts, by legal medical drug sources, would provide subsistence doses of drug XYZ that a given person is addicted to, while at the same time counselling them on lowering the dose and looking for new things in life to replace the drug. As clinical drugs are cheaper and cleaner than street drugs, this is good for the health of users as they try to lower the doses and quit, and also kills the profit incentive for Mister Bigs since they would be selling an inferior product at a higher price.

But all that takes investment and political will, which is unrealistic in many places, sadly.

[Bangmod]

Damn less money in the UDD protest fund…….

[kutjebu]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

It's the same the world over, nobody has beaten nor won a war on drugs, even the mighty USA..

It's all about supply and demand, and it seems like the demand never diminishes.. Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death !!

That's what Thaksin sad as well,when he was in power.2500 less.

[Fat Haggis]

This isn't about Thaksin, you guys are obsessed with the man here on TVF ..There's an ugly pattern here in that no matter what is posted, Thaksin comes into it within 5-10 posts.

This is about drug traffickers present day, stop living in the past, you can't change it!!

[JeremyBowskill]

At a loss as to what to make of this, while I think yabba/ice is absolute vomit and has no place in civilized society I'm not sure a 50+ year war on drugs has done anything but make the situation worse. Jails are fuller and more people are dead, what was it Einstein said about repeating the same actions and expecting different results........

It's the same the world over, nobody has beaten nor won a war on drugs, even the mighty USA..

It's all about supply and demand, and it seems like the demand never diminishes.. Good result though 6 less scum to peddle misery and death !!

Maybe 6 dead fathers, backed into a tightspot and forced to turn to crime to make ends meet..... doesn't really seem like result to me. Each to their own way of thinking though.

Edited March 9, 2014 by JeremyBowskill