NAKHON PHANOM - Border patrol police officers have found over 100 kilogrammes of heroin and crystal methamphetamine hidden inside three Buddha statues that were left on a roadside in Tha Uthen district of this northeastern province.
Local residents notified the officers on Saturday night that they had seen three seated Buddha statues placed on the roadside at the entrance to Don Daeng Noi Village, officials said on Tuesday.
Upon initial inspection, officers found a large number of drugs hidden inside the statues. They waited overnight, expecting to arrest the owners. However, no one showed up.
The authorities seized the sculptures, which they said had 32 bars of heroin and 117 packages of crystal methamphetamine inside them. The weight of the drug haul totalled 117kg.