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Thai police kill alleged drug smugglers

Police killed five alleged drug smugglers in two gunfights in Bangkok yesterday, officials said, bringing to 17 the number of traffickers killed by police in the past week.

Nearly half a million speed pills were seized in the two busts. The incidents appeared to signal a comeback of methamphetamine smugglers from neighboring Myanmar after the government waged a three-month drug war early this year that paralyzed trafficking for months.

One of the gunbattles occurred in a hospital parking lot where three alleged smugglers were to deliver 160,000 pills, worth 5 million baht (US$120,400), to undercover agents. The suspects, however, became suspicious and opened fire, injuring two police officers, said national police chief General Sant Sarutanond.

He said all the suspects were from the Wa ethnic minority group living along the Thai-Myanmar border and that they hid the drugs among agricultural produce transported to Bangkok by truck.

Police found some of the drugs were old, indicating they were produced months ago.

The delivery was probably delayed due to the crackdown. Sant said he expected more such shipments.

In a separate battle, police killed a 26-year-old Thai after he opened fire during the delivery of 300,000 speed pills.

Police said they had been tracking the man since last year. Police did not estimate the value of the seized pills, which varied in quality.
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