A Thai national attempting to smuggle amphetamines into Thailand narrowly escaped capture by the New Mon State Party (NSMP), says an NSMP leader who is involved in the party’s anti-drug efforts.

At 6pm on December 14th, the Thai man encountered NMSP soldiers at the Gu Bowl village checkpoint, near the Three Pagodas Pass border crossing into Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Province. The man, who was a passenger on a motorcycle taxi, dismounted the bike and ran away.

The man escaped but, in his haste to flee, left his jacket behind. The jacket contained a total of 1,500 amphetamine pills divided into six small plastic bags, said the NMSP source, as well as two Thai identity cards and a mobile phone. The motorcycle taxi driver is currently being detained by the NMSP.

According to a local source who saw the contents of the jacket, the identity cards prove without doubt that the man is a police officer, named Nai-sar-yan Phin-sari, age 37. The NMSP confirmed that the identity cards indicate the man is a Thai national, but could not confirm whether the man is a member of the Royal Thai Police.

The NMSP agreed to a cease-fire with Burma’s military government in 1995. As part of the cease-fire terms, it maintains control of a small amount of territory along the Thai-Burma border, including the area around Three Pagodas Pass.

The number of amphetamines seized in the border area is increasing in comparison to previous years, said another NMSP officer. Based on earlier IMNA reports, in 2008 40,000 amphetamine pills were seized by NMSP, Burmese and Thai authorities.