Thailand finds $29M of drugs, arrests 11 in just over a week

Police pack away drugs after a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Authorities say they have seized drugs worth about $29 million and arrested 11 people in recent days as narcotics cases surge in the country. The drugs included amphetamine pills, marijuana, ketamine and ice seized in 11 unconnected cases. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

BANGKOK — Thai authorities say they have seized drugs worth about $29 million and arrested 11 people in recent days as narcotics cases surge.

The drugs included amphetamine pills, marijuana, ketamine and ice seized in 11 unconnected cases since March 25. The haul displayed Tuesday at the Narcotics Suppression Division outside Bangkok was spread along a row of tables about 15 meters long (49 feet).

The total was estimated to be worth 890 million baht ($29 million), with the largest single haul being 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of ice.

They also seized nearly 1,800,000 pills of yaba, which is a local caffeine-methamphetamine mix, and 1,380 kilograms (3,000 pounds) of marijuana.

Thai police have dealt with more than 1,000 drug cases since October, compared to about 450 in the previous one-year period.        /muf