Troops seize methamphetamine in area close to Chinese-controlled Golden Triangle

Thai troops seized 1.1 million methamphetamine pills in northern Thailand close to the notorious Golden Triangle drug hub.

The Pha Muang Task Force assigned to intercept drug shipments along the Thai-Myanmar border confronted around four suspected drug smugglers trekking through a forest in Chiang Rai province early morning on September 21.

Officials asked to search the group - only for them to open fire on the soldiers before fleeing.

Pha Muang Task Force commander Major General Praphat Phobsuwan said the alleged smugglers left behind boxes containing 1.1 million meth pills.

There were no injuries or deaths reported. The hard drugs were handed over to the Mae Sai Police Station.

Bloomberg citing data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that a record 169 tonnes of methamphetamine was seized in SEA last year, 82 per cent of which came from the Golden Triangle - a hotbed of criminal activity where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet.

At the heart of the Golden Triangle lies the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), run by notorious Chinese business tycoon and suspected crime boss Zhao Wei in the Chinese vassal state Laos. Communist chiefs are said to turn a Nelsonian eye to his wrongdoing.

In 2007, Zhao brokered a deal with the Laos government and obtained a 99-year lease to build the zone on a 39-square mile patch of impoverished Bokeo province.

The Chinese businessman claims to be a benefactor as he touts the GTSEZ as a tourist and economic hub designed to bring more income and investments into the country. However, both local and international law enforcement agencies believe it is a front for organised crime, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, and call-centre scams.

International authorities have struggled to take down the gambling empire as the Laos government itself is said to be protecting the GTSEZ, in which it has a 20 per cent stake.