Pubdate: Tue, 05 Oct 2004
Source: Nation, The (Thailand)
Copyright: 2004 Nation Multimedia Group
Contact:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963
Author: Piyanuch Thamnukasetcha

THAKSIN ISSUES WARNING TO POLICE

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday threatened to transfer 
officials who fail to prevent a resurgence of drug use and trafficking, a 
day after he announced another round in his war on drugs.

"I am serious about taking action against drug traffickers. Government 
officials, police in particular, must take action too as these traffickers 
destroy youths' lives, ruin the economy and damage the country," he said.

The premier cited Bangkok's Klong Toei district as needing extra attention 
from the Metropolitan Police Bureau as well as the Narcotics Control Board 
(NCB).

"Klong Toei has never been drugfree," he said.

He called on officials or officers to complain directly to him if they were 
abused for cracking down on drugs.

Tipsters with useful information on drug trafficking would also receive 
rewards, Thaksin promised.

The drug trade has been coming back with ketamine from Cambodia, ecstasy 
from Malaysia, heroin from Burma, and marijuana in Thailand's Northeast, he 
said. Last year Thaksin declared the country free of drugs after a 10month 
operation that saw more than 2,000 people killed, prompting outrage from 
governments and human rights organisations around the world.

Thaksin said some African travellers smuggled in cocaine when they boarded 
flights to Bangkok, but it was difficult for officials to detect because 
they carried the illicit drug in small amounts.

"Every government agency must join forces in cracking down on drugs," he said.

He also told the Education Ministry to ask schools to look for students 
suspected of sniffing glue or drug addiction.

"These children must be sent to receive treatment immediately before others 
follow their examples," he said, adding that the Public Health Ministry 
must provide treatment for drug abusers and other agencies must use 
information from these children to trace drug traffickers.

Pol LtGeneral Krissana Pholanan, NCB secretarygeneral, said his agency 
would reexamine areas suspected to be drug routes or drugstorage areas, 
especially Klong Toei and adjacent provinces to Bangkok.

Krissana said the drug crackdown this time would focus on strengthening 
communities and closely watching movements that could be involved with the 
drug trade.
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