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LAMPANG - Police were on Monday hunting a rogue cop who took a civilian hostage and then fled into the forest following a car chase after he drove through a roadblock on Sunday night.
Police found 2.48 million methamphetamine pills, or yaba, and five kilogrammes of crystal amphetamines, or ya ice, in his abandoned vehicle.
The drugs have an estimated street value of 760 million baht.
The wanted man was identified as Pol Sgt Manas Suapho, 42, of the Bangkok Metropolitan Traffic Police.
Pol Sgt Manas was signalled to stop at a checkpoint on the Lampang-Phayao road, but fled, according to police.
Police fired at the fugitive, who fired back at them they said. They were able to stop his vehicle, which left the road and hit a house. After the accident, the suspect held a civilian at gun point and escaped, police said.
Police found the drugs in his abandoned vehicle.
Another suspect, in another car, was taken into police custody.
Police had deployed armed squads, including police dogs and a helicopter, to hunt down Pol Sgt Manas. He was believed to be hiding in a forest in the area.
On Oct 12, police seized more than over 1.7 million speed pills at a house in Samut Sakhon's Krathum Baen district and arrested four drug suspects.
The drugs have an estimated street value of 500 million baht.
On Oct 19, a man was arrested in possession of 54,000 speed pills and two kilogrammes of crystal meth worth over 30 million baht in Surat Thani's Muang district.
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Fugitive drug dealer cop surrenders
A police officer who fled from his vehicle leaving behind drugs worth about 760 million baht on the street surrendered to authorities on Wednesday and confessed that he had smuggled drugs for two years and earned about two million baht for each delivery.
After three days on the runin the northern province of Lampang, Pol Sgt Manas Suapho of the Bangkok Metropolitan Traffic Police contacted a high-ranking police official and offered to turn himself in.
Police took him to the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok for further questioning by Metropolitan Police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang.
Pol Sgt Manas Suapho, an officer who fled from his vehicle leaving behind drugs worth B760m on the street, surrenders to authorities on Oct 24, 2012. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
Pol Sgt Manas said at a press conference on Wednesday that he had transported drugs about 10 times since 2010 and earned between one million and 2.2 million baht for each delivery.
"My friend, who is a former police officer at Pracha Chuen police station, asked me to join the drug trafficking ring.
"I received the drugs at the border in Chiang Rai province and my job was to deliver them to Bangkok," said the Bangkok police sergeant major.
He said an agent he knew only as "Jae Pen" would contact him once the drugs were in the capital.
"I stopped delivering drugs three to four months ago now because I was afraid of being caught, but Jae Pen asked me to do it one last time. I agreed and got arrested in the end," he said.
He said he used his Mercedes or BMW to transport the drugs, but had never used his police badge to facilitate his crime.
"I was not thinking when I ran away, but I'm not afraid of death. I believed police would not shoot at a fellow officer and I didn't know where to hide.
"I've told my wife and family about this and I believe I'll receive fair treatment," Pol Sgt Manas said.
On Sunday night, the 42-year-old fugitive fled into a forest in Lampang's Ngao district, abandoning his vehicle that was found to contain 2.48 million methamphetamine pills, or yaba, and five kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ya ice.
Another suspect, in another car, was arrested at the same road block.
Police have seized some of Pol Sgt Manas' assets, and obtained arrest warrants for six other suspects, including a former policeman.
Meanwhile in Chiang Mai, police arrested a six-member Hmong hilltribe drug gang and seized speed pills with an estimated street value of 120 million baht.
Kriangkrai sae Lawua, 23, and five other suspects – all Hmong men -- were brought before a press conference in Bangkok on Wednesday, by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung and national police chief Adul Saengsingkaew.
They were arrested in Chiang Mai's Doi Saket district on Saturday.
Police also confiscated from them valuables such as cars and mobile phones.
Pol Gen Adul said anti-narcotics police had learned that the gang planned to traffic drugs from the Thai-Myanmar border and deliver them to a customer in Chiang Mai. They set up a surveillance operation on routes police believed the suspects might use.
Police located the gang's vehicle near Doi Mae Salong, a main attraction in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district, and followed it until it stopped at a house in Doi Saket where the officers showed themselves.
Police found 400,000 yaba pills hidden in the back of the suspects' pickup truck, which had been modified, with a secret compartment.
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