A subsequent police investigation revealed that the cause of this illegal drug market crash was 41-year old Prachaub Kanpecth, a man who normally works collecting rubbish and forest honey, but who happened to be in possession of about half a million meth pills. During an interrogation Kanpetch revealed that while he was out foraging, he saw a group of men in a pickup truck hiding a large package in the shrubbery, which contained about 700,000 methamphetamine pills, also known as "ya ba" or "crazy drug", worth approximately $6 million.
However, rather than handing his find over to the authorities or hoarding it, Kanpecth started handing away the pills to his friends who were down on their luck.
"He claimed he has been giving [the pills] to his friends who needed money or who wanted the money to pay back debts," Suriya Yoopeat, a police commander in Uthai district, told AFP.
By the time he was apprehended Kanpetch had already managed to distribute about 200,000 pills, which resulted in him being charged with possession and intent to supply.
The police are currently attempting to discover the origins of the drug.
