Hundreds of packages of compressed marijuana worth about 10 million baht on the street were abandoned by fleeing drug traffickers chased by police in Tha Uthen district on Tuesday. Marine police on patrol spotted a pickup truck with Bangkok licence plates, matching details provided by an informant, passing Chiang Yuen village in tambon Wern Phrabat on Tuesday. The informant had also told them a large shipment of marijuana would be smuggled across the Mekong River into Thailand via Nakhon Phanom, Thai media reported. The team gave chase to the vehicle, which was later found parked and abandoned on the Nakhon Phanom-Ban Phaeng Road near Huay Hongdin bridge in tambon Chai Buri of Tha Uthen district. An inspection revealed 555 bars of compressed marijuana, weighing one kilo each, contained in fertiliser sacks. Marine police displayed the marijuana at a media conference in Nakhon Phanom township. The seized drugs were worth about 10 million baht, officials said. The abandoned vehicle had false licence plates.