Chiang Rai – Arresting officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) clashed with a drug trafficker in Chiang Rai today, September 20th, 2023, resulting in 1 officer being killed and one suspect shot dead. Over 5 million pills of narcotics were seized.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Khomsit Rangsai, a commander of ONCB, was assigned as head of the operation to arrest drug traffickers smuggling illicit substances from the Chiang Rai province to inner parts of Thailand.
During the operation, the ONCB team detected and tailed a target: a Black Toyota Fortuner with a fabricated plate, in the Wiang Chai district on the road. The suspected vehicle was alert and attempted to drive away; however, the police officers set up a roadblock on his escape route. The suspect tried to force his way through, but the car severely collided with an electric pole and a shop sign.
One of the officers called for the lone suspect to step out of the vehicle, but instead, the officer was fatally shot by the suspect. The escalating situation led to an intense shootout with other officers that lasted more than 1 minute. The suspect on the run, identified only as Mr. Chanoi, 51 years old and from Chiang Mai, was carrying a 9 mm pistol. He was extrajudicially killed on the scene after being surrounded and continuing to violently resist arrest by the officers.
Pol. Sen. Sgt. Maj. Weerawat Khamdee, a member of ONCB, was later identified as the officer unfortunately shot dead by Chanoi. Pol. Sen. Sgt. Maj. Wipoo Phanphim was slightly wounded and Pol. Lt. Col. Weerasak suffered minor collateral damage from a gunshot wound to his buttocks.
Rescue teams transferred the wounded officers to a local hospital immediately. The police forensics team and other relevant parties investigated the crime scene and found 30 blue sacks full of amphetamine, an estimated number of 5-6 million individual units. The police will later perform a further calculation to determine the exact number of narcotics.
