Premier Cites Public Support As Key Factor; Says Battle Must Continue Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday asserted that the administration's second round of war on narcotics had made more progress than the first round due to the people's increased support. "We found more than 7,000 drug addicts, and 4,000 of them are already receiving treatment. We also arrested more than 2,800 drug dealers and seized assets from 22 of them worth nearly Bt 19 million, and we burnt 3,500 kilograms of drugs" Thaksin said in his weekly radio address. [continues 232 words]
Another 'extra' statistic? The Pha Muang Task Force operating along the Myanmar border arrested two drug dealers and killed another at Mae Fa Luang district of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district. Under the command of Maj Gen Manus Paorik of the Pha Muang Task Force, five teams of the 3rd Cavalry Special Task Force soldiers, 138th Cavalry Battalion were on patrol along the Mae Joke-Terd Thai route in Mae Fa Laung district, about 500 meters from the border on November 25. They came across two Burmese and apprehended one of them. He was in possession of drug-taking equipment and a firearm. [continues 177 words]
80 officials from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, including district chief officers, superintendents, customs and immigration officials, and narcotics suppression police met to discuss border problems. Maj Gen Manus Paorik, Pha Muang Task Force commander The meeting, held at the Pha Muang Task Force on November 25, included discussion on drug trafficking, problems associated with the issuing of alien laborer ID cards and the illegal entry of alien laborers. Commander of Pha Muang Task Force, Maj Gen Manus Paorik, said participants were informed of the Pha Muang Task Force's border mission. The task force urged relevant organizations to supply the names of illegal alien laborers or migrants who had to be repatriated. [continues 219 words]
Although the war on drugs ended almost two years ago with the government proudly announcing it a big success, the operation has left indelible wounds on many people who have been searching in despair for justice and the answers to their misery. Thai-language Kom Chad Luek daily recently published a touching plea from the daughter and niece of a victim in Phetchaburi. With the murder of the head of their family, no government agency has been able to solve the mystery of the case or take any responsibility for it. [continues 700 words]
Narcotic operations are moving from the border regions to urban areas of the northern region. The change in focus began on October 4 and will continue until December, Kamol Taiyapirom, director of the coordination division of Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Region, announced. Kamol Taiyapirom, director of the coordination division of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Region. "Urban areas have become hiding places for some drug dealers and target areas, triggering a greater spread of drug use among students and in schools," said Kamol. By comparison, border areas have become less profitable for drug trafficking because of constant suppression of soldiers and police. [continues 59 words]
The editor of the "Pa Loke" newspaper of Saraburi province, Wichen Puapun, 49, and Sawat Sornsawan, 50, a resident of Chiang Mai's San Pathong have been arrested in possession of 480,000 ya ba tablets. The tablets were found in Wichen's car while they were driving along the Chiang Mai-Lampang Superhighway to Bangkok in Hang Chat district, Lampang on November 6. The two men were sent to the Provincial Police Bureau Region 5 for questioning. Police learned there were another six dealers involved when the two confessed they bought the drugs at Ban Pang Mai Daeng, in tambon Keud Chang, Mae Taeng district, Chiang Mai. [continues 119 words]
Once they survived by cultivating opium. Now most of the hill tribes who did so are supporting their families by growing other crops through the Nong Hoi Royal Project. It is quite an achievement that 25 percent of Doi Kham crops are produced by the project in Chiang Mai's Mae Rim district. The former hill tribe poppy farmers are now employed by the Royal Project, and have turned it into a new agro-tourism and eco-tourism site. Situated in Nong Hoi Kao village in tambon Mae Raem, it takes about 45 minutes via the Chiang Mai-Fang Highway (Highway107). After 17 km, turn left onto the Mae Rim-Samoeng (Highway1096) and continue for 15 km. Then take the paved road on the right (between km 14-15) and continue for 7 km. [continues 508 words]
The Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has called on all anti-drug networks to meet to devise new suppression strategies. Pittaya Jinawat, director of the ONCB, made the call in preparation for the "Second War on Drugs" on November 3 at the Tarin Hotel in Chiang Mai. He addressed 100 participants from the Provincial Police Bureau Region 5, Office of Primary School Education, student representatives from both government and private universities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with youths in slum communities and hill tribes. [continues 133 words]
In Bangkok, Be Ready to Give a Urine Sample BANGKOK, Thailand - Police burst into the dark nightclub after midnight, weave through the crowd and lock the doors, trapping nearly 400 bewildered customers inside. The lights flicker on, and a voice over loudspeakers orders everyone to submit to urine tests for drugs. It's part of a three-year-old "social order" campaign to curb drug abuse that has cast a damper over Saturday night partying in Bangkok. It started in 2001 with the then interior minister, Purachai Piemsomboon, leading television crews into the neon-lit venues on high-profile busts. He has since gone on to higher office, but his "Mr. Clean" title has passed to Pracha Maleenont, a former entertainment business and TV station owner, who hasn't missed a beat in seeking to tame Bangkok's famously freewheeling night life. [continues 437 words]
A Thai court sentenced a British man to death and another to 33 1/2 years in prison on Monday after they were found in possession of drugs including heroin, methamphetamines and ecstasy. Anthony Flannaghan, 33, was found guilty of illegal drug possession with intent to sell and sentenced to death, said Judge Thawat Choonkluabthong and court documents. Flannaghan denied the charges and told reporters outside the court room that he planned to appeal the sentence. A second defendant, Stephen Wilcox, 39, was sentenced to 33 1/2 years in prison and fined 800,000 baht (US$19,500; euro 15,300) for drug possession, Thawat said. Wilcox was initially sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 1,200,000 baht (US$29,300; euro 22,900), but had his sentenced reduced after he pleaded guilty. The convicts, whose hometowns were not immediately known, were shackled at the ankles and handcuffed together. [end]
ONCB waiting for clear signals from Burma The local director of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) is apprehensive that the new Burmese leader will not fully support Thailand's drug suppression in the region, following the ouster of Gen. Khin Nyunt as prime minister, replaced by Lt.-Gen. Soe Win. Pittaya Jinawat, director of the ONCB in the North, said that it had noted the political change in the Burmese political leadership. It predicted a renewed spread of drugs by some minority groups that the Office had placed under observation, according to Pittaya. [continues 128 words]
Extra-Judicial Killing in Chai Prakan District, Chiang Mai Pha Muang Task Force seized over 400,000 ya ba pills from two agents in Chiang Dao and Chai Prakan districts and confiscated the dealers' properties valued at 20 million baht. A joint press conference was held on October 16 at the Pha Muang Task Force by Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij, commander of Narcotic Suppression Bureau, Maj Gen Manus Paorik, the commander of Pha Muang Task Force, and Pittaya Jinawat, director of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Office. [continues 348 words]
More heroin is expected to be smuggled into Thailand, with the traffickers changing their transit routes to bring it in via Laos instead of Myanmar. The Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Office said international relations between Thailand and its neighbors Myanmar and Laos have improved, and Thailand is ready to adjust its strategic plan in the second "War on Drugs" in this region. The prospects of future cooperation between Thailand and Myanmar are said to be bright. The Burmese authorities have cooperated well in reducing drug production among the minority groups, as well as helping to repatriate drug suspects fleeing Thailand to hide in Myanmar. [continues 286 words]
The new assistant commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army has visited Pha Muang Task Force in Chiang Mai to stress that the suppression of drug smuggling is a hot issue. Gen Lertrat Ratanawanitch, assistant to Commander-in-Chief Gen Pravit Wongsuwan, visited the task force on October 8 to familiarize himself with the drug situation in its area of responsibility. He came to the North to attend the task force's briefing on drug prevention measures and drug suppression, including the Thai-Burma cooperation plan to help develop the villages along the Thai-Burmese border. [continues 157 words]
Germany has signaled its willingness to help Thailand eradicate the production of opium in the Golden Triangle. Germany's Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Health and Social Security toured the Drug Rehabilitation Center in Chiang Mai and said she was willing to cooperate with Thailand to help eradicate the drug scourge. As part of an official visit to observe Thailand's drug suppression and AIDS operation and prevention, Marion Caspers-Merk visited the rehabilitation center of the Public Health Ministry in Mae Rim district on October 7. [continues 187 words]
X-Rays to Be Used The new Chiang Rai provincial governor has ordered X-ray machines to be installed to be used for drug searches, and wants community leaders, kamnan and village headmen to play a greater part. Governor Veerakiart Somsoy said after he had outlined government policy to the community leaders in Mae Chan and Mae Sai districts, that Chiang Rai had stepped up measures throughout the province to track down drug addicts and dealers. Strict measures will be enforced to suppress drug ringleaders and their networks of traffickers by working in cooperation with volunteers in the communities, including kamnan and village headmen. X-ray surveillance has been installed in the villages. Veerakiart added that using the X-Ray measure in the province is implementation of government policy. The approach involving the community is expected to lead to greater efficiency and success. The Tambon Administration Organization has also allocated money for the prevention and suppression of drugs at grassroots level. [end]
A "quality-of-life" training camp raising anti-drug awareness among Thai youth wrapped up recently under the leadership of Maj-General Chamlong Srimuang, who chairs the Dharma Centre in Ayutthaya province. More than 1,200 young people from across the country attended his three-day anti-drug camp, which emphasised youth volunteers helping to get people free of addictive substances including drugs and alcohol. Chamlong said the programme was developed with the cooperation of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation to promote awareness about the dangers faced in each community across the country. [continues 61 words]
Beware of thy neighbor seems to be the concept The Drug Combating Center in Lampang Muang District, assisted by the "people's power" is ready for the second wave in the "War on Drugs" campaign. The Center and provincial authorities hosted an event to create more networking to keep a close watch on the drug situation. This is the response to the government's campaign to prevent the drug problem returning to the area. Ruangrit Chormsuek, district chief officer of Lampang Muang District, presided over the launching ceremony at the district office, together with over 500 people including the region's Buddhist leaders, private sector, chiefs of the local government offices, including kamnans, village headmen, and the "People Power Club" in the villages. [continues 116 words]
'Brutal Measures' Vow Raises Rights Concerns The second war on drugs will focus on Klong Toey slum communities, which must be made free of drugs, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday. Mr Thaksin opened the second six-month phase of Palang Phandin Ruam Kwadlang Yaseptid (the war on addictive drugs) yesterday at the Police Society in Bang Khen. He instructed the police to be serious in combating the drug trade, especially the transportation of cocaine by motorcycles. The new metropolitan police commissioner and anti-drug chief should launch at least one more crackdown on drugs in the Klong Toey area where there were always drugs and anti-drug volunteers must remain on guard. [continues 481 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday declared a new round of a full-scale war on drugs, promising "brutal measures" against drug dealers and traffickers. "Drug dealers and traffickers are heartless and wicked. All of them must be sent to meet the guardian of hell, so that there will not be any drugs in the country," Mr Thaksin said. A lot of youngsters had fallen victim to drug dealers over the years and methamphetamines would likely make a comeback. "These things are like cancer and we have to continue to keep a close watch on them," he said. The new, one-year campaign would involve decisive action against drug dealers and traffickers. [continues 191 words]
As many as 2,500 people were killed in the first campaign of the government's war on drugs, and the country could well see more bloodshed now that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a second offensive. The government's determination to rid Thai society of the evil of drugs deserves the support of us all. But the high fatality rate in the first six-month war on drugs last year has seriously marred what should be one of this government's major achievements in office. [continues 609 words]
A coalition of 51 human rights and health organisations has called on the Municipal Council of L'Aquila and Instituzi Perdonanza Colestniana to withdraw the 2004 International Forgiveness Award given to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin was named as the recipient of the award for "his government's treatment of drug abusers as patients rather than criminals". The award was presented to the prime minister during his trip to Italy last month. The group, which comprises Thai and international organisations, said systematic and brutal human rights violations took place during the government's war on drugs under Mr Thaksin's leadership. [continues 72 words]
West Says Asia One Of Prime Exporters Wildlife and drugs smuggling go hand-in-hand with Asia being one of the prime exporters, said European and American justice officials yesterday. However, a Thai wildlife expert said Thailand had in the past found cases of illicit drugs concealed among live animals sent to the United States, but that was ancient history. "We continue to find various cases of both endangered animals and drugs being smuggled in the same container, or sometimes legal animals are used as live vessels to make it easier to pass through customs," said John Webb, a prosecutor from the US Justice Department. "Drug and wildlife trafficking may be the two greatest money-makers, aside from gun running, why not put them together." [continues 207 words]
The Third Army Region has evaluated the cooperation in Thai-Burmese border village development, as part of the drive to stop the trafficking in drugs. The Third Army Region's deputy commander, Maj Gen Pravit Klinthong and Pittaya Jinawat, the director of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Northern Office chaired the evaluation that was held at Nakhonping Palace Hotel, Chiang Mai on September 23. 150 commanders and officials of the Third Army Region attended. Deputy Commander Maj Gen Pravit said Thailand had developed villages in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Tak provinces. [continues 245 words]
For Anti-Narcotics, Law Enforcement, Regional Activities U.S. Embassy Information Resource Center - U.S. Ambassador Darryl N. Johnson and Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation Director General Ambassador Piamsak Milintachinda has signed an agreement through which the U.S. will provide more than USD 4.5 million of assistance to nine narcotics and legal projects in Thailand. The projects cover the areas of criminal justice, law enforcement, trafficking in persons, intellectual property rights, drug crop control, demand reduction and regional cooperation. [continues 519 words]
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). [continues 260 words]
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, undaunted by an avalanche of criticism after more than 2,500 people were killed in his first war on drugs, launched another one on Monday, vowing to destroy drug bosses. "We have to take serious actions against them because these wicked diseases never die," Thaksin said. "We will continue our drastic actions against those I see as destroyers of everything from the future of our nation, our economy and our society. Many families have fallen apart because of them," he told hundreds of law enforcers and volunteers. [continues 418 words]
Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has announced a second phase of his controversial war on drugs, vowing to destroy drug bosses. Mr Thaksin says he needs to maintain his drastic approach because drug dealers are destroying the future. He has ordered school principals to keep a close eye on students and directed village chiefs to monitor unemployed youths, the main targets of drug dealers. The main weapon in the current drive will be legal restraints, including anti-money laundering and tax evasion laws. [continues 54 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday warned drug dealers against remaining in the trade while his government staged an "all-out war" on drugs over the next year. "Nobody will be able to help them if they continue dealing in drugs. If they want to see the Prince of Hell, let me know," he said. Thaksin said that the government would carry out another round in the war on drugs from this month until October of next year. Thousands of suspected drug dealers were killed in the previous round of the government's war on drugs, attracting criticism from human-rights activists. [continues 54 words]
A recent US State Department report salutes Thailand's progress in shutting down international drug traffickers, but much remains to be done on the home front. Despite stepped up efforts at suppression by Burmese authorities, huge quantities of methamphetamines _ known in Thailand as ya ba (crazy drug) _ are still made in clandestine labs in Burma and smuggled into Thailand via the common border and through neighbouring countries. Intelligence sources say that most of the estimated 800 million ya ba tablets produced annually in Burma enter into Thailand. [continues 1538 words]
Chiang Mai _ The director of the Northern Narcotics Control Centre is confident Thailand will be free of illegal drugs in six or seven years. Thailand will also support drug suppression in neighbouring countries through intelligence sharing and technical assistance. Pitthaya Jinawat told a workshop he was certain Thailand would be free of illegal drugs by 2010 or 2011, well before 2015, the year set by the United Nations for Asian nations to become drug free. Thailand will also provide training, intelligence and equipment to its neighbours in Southeast Asia, especially Laos and Vietnam, for use in fighting drugs. [continues 162 words]
A Knowledgeable Source Claims That, Contrary To Common Belief, Opium Poppy Cultivation Has Increased In Some Areas Of Burma "I don't like drugs and addicts. They don't want to work and they commit crimes to fund their habit." These were the first words out of the mouth of Sai Kam (not his real name), who agreed to meet and tell "everything" about the drug business along the Thai-Burmese border. Sai Kam is an agent for an anti-narcotics group based in Nam Hkam in northern Shan State of Burma. There has been a significant increase in opium poppy cultivation between Nam Hkam and Kutkai areas in the past years because of the reduced output in Wa, Kokang and other regions of the state, he said. [continues 794 words]
The Drug Combating Center in Chiang Mai recently held a training session for 250 teachers, Boy Scout leaders and other community leaders within the municipal area. Atthacha Kampanartsaenyakorn, head of the Drug Combating Center, said he believed communities working with the center were becoming stronger, but the drug scourge would continue if there was not a sufficiently vigorous and able law enforcement against drug dealers and money launderers. He cited the cases of Laota Saenlee, whose conviction was cancelled by the Court of First Instance and of Wei Hsuesh-kang's righthand man, whose properties had been confiscated by the Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) but were returned to him after he hired a talented lawyer to fight his case. [continues 90 words]
Following a royal amnesty to mark HM the Queen's birthday, 203 of the 3,787 prisoners in Chiang Mai Central Prison walked free on September 9. They were all considered as 'trustworthy' prisoners and had less than one year of their sentences to go. Most had been arrested in connection with drug offences. This is the second release of male prisoners at Chiang Mai Central Prison. The first took place on National Mother's Day, when 109 prisoners were released. [continues 117 words]
Good news has been slowly accumulating in and around Thailand that the tide is turning against illicit drugs, and especially against the criminals who make, sell and smuggle them. The latest small step forward was the decision by US authorities that the significance of the drug trade has dropped. President George W. Bush removed Thailand from a list of 22 countries where there is big-time drug trafficking. It is a realistic decision, although some will argue it could divert attention from the hurricane of drug trafficking all around the calm eye which is Thailand. [continues 574 words]
An Australian who has spent the last 11 years in nine Thai prisons has gone on a hunger strike to convince authorities to extradite him so he can face drug charges in the United States. Martin Garnett, 37, who is known to prison authorities as Mitchell Blake, marked his 4,000th day of incarceration with the promise to refuse food until he is transferred out of the country or he dies. According to a report in The Australian, Garnett said his extradition to the US has been stalled because Thai authorities stand to lose face if he reveals information about corruption in the prison system. [continues 414 words]
July was a 'productive' month for the police, as 700 people allegedly involved in drug trafficking in the eight northern provinces were arrested, according to the Provincial Police Bureau Region 5. The two provinces that yielded the most arrests were Chiang Rai (301) and Chiang Mai (192). Of these, four were actual drug producers and 10 were simply 'mules' who carried drugs into Thailand from other countries. In those figures there were also 318 drug users and 161 others were caught in possession of drugs. [continues 88 words]
A Klong Toei drug boss was found guilty of drug trafficking yesterday and sentenced to life imprisonment on circumstantial evidence. Supap "Pap 70 Rai" Sidaeng, an underworld leader in the slum community, was found guilty of methamphetamine trafficking in a verdict sure to set a new trend in drug litigation. In a departure from other drug cases relying on physical evidence, Supap was convicted because the Criminal Court was certain he was a "first-tier trafficker". "The defendant is a Jek Pua [first-tier trafficker] and corroborated testimonies of drug gang members have told this court that Jek Pua-level bosses are not personally involved in drug transactions," the verdict said. [continues 209 words]
Clearing Laos' hills of poppies has created major social and health problems for traditional farmers The Lao government's headlong rush towards its 2005 deadline for total opium eradication is hailed by drug control agencies as a remarkable success. But many Lao people have little cause to celebrate. International NGOs and development specialists have issued warnings about the looming humanitarian disaster inflicted on hilltribes people, cajoled and coerced to abandon their traditional opium livelihoods without any alternatives in place. The cold statistics of the Laos Opium Survey 2004 and the triumphalist comments of Antonio Maria Costa, director of the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime, or Undoc, about the end of opium in the Golden Triangle, ignores the human costs and suffering for the Hmong, Akha and other hilltribes ravaged by disease in resettlement zones. [continues 864 words]
The most cost-efficient way to rid Thai society of HIV-positive injection drug users is, apparently, to murder them. In a bid to draw world attention to the issue, NYC-based Human Rights Watch and Montreal-based Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network this weekend are awarding their annual International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS to the Thai Drug Users' Network. The network has been operating across Thailand to reduce drug abuse and HIV infection while documenting up to 3,000 government-sponsored killings of drug users in the last year. [continues 274 words]
Dying for Thai drugs The most cost-efficient way to rid Thai society of HIV-positive injection drug users is, apparently, to murder them. In a bid to draw world attention to the issue, NYC-based Human Rights Watch and Montreal-based Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network this weekend are awarding their annual International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS to the Thai Drug Users' Network. The network has been operating across Thailand to reduce drug abuse and HIV infection while documenting up to 3,000 government-sponsored killings of drug users in the last year. "People are terrified because anyone can suggest a name for a [anti-drug/HIV] blacklist," explains Karyn Kaplan, TDN's international advocacy co-ordinator. "They go down to the police station and when they leave cops follow people suspected of [taking] drugs and kill them. There were no trials. They were just shot." [continues 249 words]
Rattananurak Health Rehabilitation Center in Lampang's Muang district was officially opened by the Minister of Public Health, Sudarat Keyuraphan, on August 20. The center, on Huay Peng Road, began operating last December for drug rehabilitation for addicts from 17 northern provinces. The center's main programs are based on a community-based drug rehabilitation method. All drug users and addicts live together as a big family in a safe and drug-free environment. The center also develops their social skills, alter their behavior and increase their opportunities to be employed and keep them off drugs in future. [continues 147 words]
To the Editors of the Chiangmai Mail: Thanks for publishing Eric Knudsen's outstanding letter: "What's The Drug War About" (Sat, Aug. 14th). I'd like to add that the United States government is in no position to give any other nation advice on how to run an anti-drugs campaign. No other nation has wasted more resources in fighting drugs and no other nation has imprisoned more of its citizens for drug law violations than the U. S., yet no other nation has been less successful in solving its drug problem than the United States. [continues 188 words]
Phuket, Thailand has proposed the setting up of 10 more border liaison offices in the four Mekong countries and an increase in the frequency of patrols along the Mekong river in a bid to stem the flow of illicit drugs. The proposal was tabled during a four-day meeting of representatives of drug suppression agencies from Thailand and Burma. The meeting, which began Sept 5 and ended yesterday, was co-chaired by Narcotics Control Board (NCB) secretary-general Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasathit and Burma's police chief Pol Maj-Gen Khin Yin. [continues 137 words]
The Narcotics Control Board has set up teams to examine the deaths of 2,500 people who perished last year during the war on drugs. Pol Lt-Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, said three teams comprising staff from the Attorney-General's Office, the Justice Ministry and law enforcement officers would investigate the cause of death in each case. Police had also set up a working group to look into the cases, he said, after His Majesty the King urged an inquiry during his birthday speech last December. [continues 63 words]
But The Big Fish Escapes Again Drug Suppression Division of Provincial Police Bureau, Region 5, in cooperation with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), United State's Department of Justice arrested a Hmong drug dealer, Chaiyong Worachotwanaprai, 31, and seized a total of 750,000 ya ba tablets in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai on August 15. A press conference was held at the Provincial Police Bureau, Region 5 with Chiang Mai Governor Suwat Tantipat, Pol Lt Gen Chalor Chuwong, Commissioner of Provincial Police Bureau, Region 5, Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij, Commander of the Drug Suppression Division, and American and Thai officials of the DEA, and Chiang Mai Police Airborne Unit in attendance. [continues 256 words]
More Than Just The Thai and Burmese Armies On Patrol Several problems exist at the northern border, including minority groups, illegal entry of aliens and human trafficking as well as illicit drugs. Despite the much publicized War on Drugs (that has brought Thailand to the adverse notice of human rights groups around the world), problems continue to exist because there are several narcotic stockpiles in areas inside neighboring countries, especially Myanmar, where there are Wa group soldiers located at the border to protect the benefits for their government. And there are still orders from drug dealers on the Thai side so there is movement from other countries. [continues 726 words]
Suppression Has Produced More Inventive Ways of Transporting On August 4, Pittaya Jitranawat, the director of Narcotics Control Board, Northern region, was the keynote speaker at a workshop on 'Case Studies on Drug Suppression and Solutions; and Geographic Study', hosted by the Commander of 3rd Region Army at Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel. Pittaya said that 20 drug traffickers on the black list were aware of being traced by the authorities and had fled to live in neighboring countries. Another 40 traffickers who were not included on the black list also escaped to neighboring countries. The fact that they possess identification cards issued by two countries as having both Thai and Burmese nationalities has become a major obstacle in searching for them. [continues 429 words]
Editor; In response to: "Americans train Thai troops to combat drug trade" by Autsadaporn Kamthai (31 Jul 2004) - This is a marvelous letter/article giving insight to those who aren't sure whether America is a promoter of death and violence. I'm an American, perhaps I can help. If drugs were legal and regulated the black market and police would not be killing people over drugs. "Why" you ask? Well, because if drugs were legal they wouldn't be worth a fraction of their current value. Therefore you can thank the US government for promoting senseless violence throughout the world in their over-zealous war on drugs. The drug war is nothing other than a growing excuse to imprison and mistreat people. Eric Knudsen, USA [end]
Thai anti-narcotic officials have warned that the country may be facing a flood of drugs in the near future. There are millions of methamphetamine pills, or 'ya ba' currently stored in many secret spots along Thailand's northern border, which are waiting to be smuggled into Thailand later, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Thailand's war against drugs last year forced many drug lords to flee into neighboring countries. These drug barons may try to take advantage of any relaxation by the Thai authorities along the border to try to get back into business, according to senior ONCB official, Pittaya Jitranawat. [continues 224 words]
Inside Thailand
