NIS participates in joint operation to seize nearly 50 tons of drug chemicals in Thailand

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Wednesday it has participated in a joint operation with Thai authorities to seize nearly 50 tons of drug-producing chemicals in Thailand.

It marked the first time that a South Korean government agency has directly participated in a crackdown on an overseas drug production base.

Seoul's spy agency said it worked with Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to raid 10 warehouses in and around Bangkok on Tuesday, confiscating 49.98 tons of chemicals, including acetone and hydrochloric acid, which can be used to produce narcotics.

According to the NIS, the confiscated quantity was enough to produce some 700 million doses of drugs, with an estimated street value of about 8.4 trillion won (US$5.59 billion), if distributed as finished narcotics.

The operation was launched following a request from Thai authorities to the NIS to arrest and extradite a Thai drug kingpin, known as Thapanan, in Seoul in April.

Described by the NIS as one of Asia's biggest drug traffickers, Thapanan was accused of distributing more than half of the narcotics circulating in Thailand and was subject to 50 arrest warrants issued by Thai authorities over the past decade.

More than 100 personnel from five Thai agencies, including the ONCB, military and police, participated in the operation, while the NIS dispatched drug enforcement specialists to support the effort.

"The operation was significant as we dismantled a major source of narcotics supplied not only to South Korea but also to other parts of Asia," the NIS said.

A warehouse run by a local drug production ring in Bangkok is raided in an operation conducted jointly between the National Intelligence Service and Thai authorities on June 9, 2026, in this photo provided by the South Korean agency. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)