Army seizes Man United-themed drugs in northern Thailand

Soldiers seized drugs labelled with the Manchester United logo after a shootout with suspected smugglers at the border in northern Thailand.

Tha Muang Task Force officers intercepted several individuals trekking through a forest in Chiang Rai province bordering Myanmar at 11:10pm local time on September 5.

Troops asked to search the suspects who then reportedly opened fire on them. A five-minute clash ensued, with the alleged smugglers fleeing into the forest.

Colonel Meechai Nilsat, deputy commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said the soldiers waited until daylight to secure the area. They found that the group had left five backpacks each containing around 200,000 meth pills emblazoned with the emblem of the once-great English football club Manchester United.

The drugs were estimated to have a street value of 150 million baht (3.4 million GBP).

The task force chief said: 'The smugglers were likely heading deeper into Thailand to hand over the drugs. We are tightening security along the border to prevent more drugs from reaching inner Thailand.

'We believe they added the Manchester United logo to identify the cargo batch. Sometimes drug factories will use a popular football team.'

The Pha Muang Task Force patrols Thailand's northern border and is responsible for heading off the influx of illegal drugs in the country.

In June 28, drugs decorated with the Liverpool FC logo were confiscated in northern Thailand.

Ten parcels stamped with the iconic red logo were seized from a delivery centre in Lampang province. They reportedly contained 1.5 million meth pills.

Authorities identified the intended recipient as a certain 'Pang' in Bangkok.

Anucha Chaiyawong, director of law enforcement at the Narcotics Control Office Region 5, had said in June: 'The printing of football team logos is likely due to manufacturing orders by drug dealers in each batch. 

'Previously, we discovered other peculiar logos on drug shipments, such as Y1, Apple, or Lexus. 

'The football team logo found this time is a first in the northern region's smuggling operations, although the central office of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau should have found some before.'

Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug production and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.

Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.

(1 GBP = 44.44 THB)