Pubdate: Sun, 16 Mar 2003
Source: Nation, The (Thailand)
Copyright: 2003 Nation Multimedia Group
Contact:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963
Author: Mukdawan Sakboon

EAVESDROPPING 'A VITAL WEAPON'

Legislation exists but needs to be fully applied if authorities are to get 
ahead of traffickers - senior anti-narcotics officer

In a bid to move in on the big fish behind the drug-trafficking rings, a 
senior police officer yesterday proposed the full application of existing 
laws to allow eavesdropping.

Citing a similar law in Canada, Maj-General Somchai Sutthivaiyakit, 
assistant commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said this 
measure was necessary to enable police to gather evidence against dealers, 
which might otherwise be impossible to obtain.

Two existing pieces of legislation - the narcotics control and the 
anti-money laundering laws - include provisions that permit eavesdropping, 
Somchai said at a Chulalongkorn University seminar yesterday.

He said drug dealers remained one step ahead of police, as many of them had 
picked up radio monitoring equipment in Hong Kong to keep abreast of police 
activities.

Somchai suggested that information collected from tapping the telephone 
lines of suspected drug dealers should be used and accepted by courts as 
legal evidence.

"Every country that is seriously concerned about human rights also has laws 
regarding eavesdropping," said Somchai.

He expressed confidence that the strict regulations and procedures required 
in the use of such measures would prevent any attempts by corrupt officials 
to abuse the privilege.

Other speakers - which included forensics experts, reporters and 
human-rights advocates - questioned the effectiveness of the government's 
war on drugs, which has so far reportedly led to over 1,500 killings since 
February 1.

Forensics expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand of the Justice Ministry's 
Forensic Institute said that existing measures tended to be non-compliant 
with the justice system, or even with religious beliefs.

Human-rights advocate Kothom Arya raised concerns over the possible adverse 
consequences of the use of a blacklist of suspected drug dealers by 
authorities.

In defence of such measures, Prasart Pongsivapai, deputy director-general 
of the Local Administration Department, said those who felt they had been 
treated unfairly, or had wrongly been placed on such a list, could complain 
directly to the local authorities that prepared the list.

The Interior Ministry lists 41,914 people as "targets of monitoring".

The figure was originally 46,177 before being revised recently after 
authorities received complaints from people who found their names on the 
list, Prasart said. He insisted the list was not cast in stone and was 
subject to change at any time.

Of the total, about 29,000 have already been arrested by police, he said.
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