Two men were arrested with 40,000 methamphetamine pills after a shootout with police and soldiers on a highway in Phichit province on January 2. When officers tried to pull over a Nakhon Pathom-registered pickup truck that matched the description they were given, the vehicle spend away. One of the two men in the pickup opened fire, prompting officers to return fire and give chase. The men were forced to stop in Wang Mok sub-district. They were identified as Somphot Sripoempoon,32,and Ponphan Supakijkosol,40.Ponphan was wounded after being shot in the right shoulder.