# Thailand says four-month anti-drug drive seized 330 million meth tablets
Thailand’s government says a four-month anti-narcotics campaign produced one of the largest drug seizures in the country’s recent history, with authorities reporting more than 330 million methamphetamine tablets taken out of circulation.
The event date is 2026-01-20. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the operation, which ran from October 2025 to mid-January, also led to the arrest of more than 88,000 suspects and the freezing of assets valued at more than 3.39 billion baht, or about $140 million.
The figures point to the scale of the trafficking networks Thai authorities say they are trying to break apart, not just the volume of drugs themselves. Anutin said the campaign was aimed at dismantling the infrastructure behind the trade, including groups run by international organizers and networks enabled by local figures.
The government highlighted 15 major cases during the operation. Among the more notable examples was the arrest of Chiang Ming-feng, who was described as a key figure in a transnational network operating in Bangkok’s Asoke district. Authorities say the network concealed ketamine in carpets and transformed heroin into a liquid form that could be exported more easily.
Officials also said the crackdown reached into local politics. A prospective politician in Mukdahan province was detained with 282,000 meth pills, which the prime minister cited as evidence that drug money has penetrated political life in some areas.
The seizure totals also included 11,008 kilograms of crystal meth, almost 2,000 kilograms of ketamine and 269 kilograms of heroin. Investigators described a range of concealment methods, including meth tablets hidden in spare tyres and seats, and another shipment of more than seven million tablets found in a commercial lorry.
Border enforcement also played a major role. Thai officers intercepted nearly half a tonne of crystal meth near the Mekong River as it was being moved across from Laos.
Anutin paired the announcement with a broader message about the state’s next phase of enforcement. He said the focus would now move deeper into financial investigations to strip traffickers of what he called “blood money” and to make sure asset recovery became part of the pressure campaign.
Thailand has long been a transit and destination country for drugs moving across mainland Southeast Asia. The latest figures suggest the government is trying to present the crackdown not as a series of isolated seizures, but as a coordinated push against supply chains, cash flows and the people who keep them running.
