Thai authorities on Tuesday seized methamphetamine pills with an estimated street value of almost 5 million U.S. dollars in the southern province of Narathiwat, local media reported.

Narathiwat authorities seized more than 300,000 methamphetamine pills with an estimated street value of 144 million baht or about 4.7 million U.S. dollars, in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district, according to the Bangkok Post online.

The pills were found by a joint police-military team. The operation followed a tip-off that a large drug shipment was being transported through Thailand from Laos to a dealer in Malaysia.

The team halted a pickup truck at a checkpoint. Three men were asked to step out of the vehicle while it was searched, police said.

More than 7 million baht (229,000 U.S. dollars) in cash was found covered by a blanket on the backseat. The pills were discovered in the spare tire well. The three men were arrested on the spot.

According to police, the pills were to be sold in Malaysia for 14.72 U.S. dollars each.

The driver confessed that they carried the drugs from the Lao border in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, switching vehicles twice along the way to avoid attention, according to police.