Drug busts rise, and danger too

Three provinces in the Northeast have been identified as the major entry points of illegal drugs in Thailand.

According to a report by the Office of Narcotics Control Board, illegal drugs are being smuggled into Thailand, mostly through the provinces of Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan.

Drug smugglers are now armed, making ONCB suppression more difficult since each arrest or raid could erupt into gunfights, said ONCB secretarygeneral Krissana Pholanant.

The report also categorised drug traffickers in Thailand into two groups. One group consists of longtime traders living in the three provinces while the other includes those based in Bangkok, the East and Saraburi, or drug users themselves who get involved directly in the illicit trade.

The ONCB reported 1,230 arrests in June, 11 per cent higher than those made in May. A total of 63,382 amphetamine tablets were seized during the arrests made also in Loei and Udon Thani.

Each tablet is smuggled into Thailand at Bt75 to Bt250 but is sold at Bt250 to Bt500 in inner provinces away from the border. The best price reported was at Bt300 to Bt450 in Nong Bua Lamphu and Kalasin.

Apart from routine police and antidrug agents works, more patrols in the Mekong River and along borders are needed to better tackle the problem. Public participation and communities would also be useful in the ONCB operation against drug trade and trafficking, said Pol Lt General Krissana.

-- The Nation 2008-11-03

B500 for ONE tablet !!!!!!!! No wonder the ladies are upping the cost of short time .

Drugs are always a problem and with economic times getting worse, I think the problem will only get worse.

You know , a thought ran through my ancient grey matter ( Quite quickly) , that during hard times , the instances of theft etc rose to offset unavailable honest means of survival . Having said that , with the cost of drugs on the rise , will it not be prudent of those who avail themselves of certain services , to take greater steps to ensure the safety of their assets . This should also take the 'Duck food ' into consideration , Thais have the reputation of being one of the highest in the world when it comes to feeding their pets , and drugs can induce some strange re-actions in certain circumstances .

Feel free drug loads. Thaksin is no longer here. Don't forget to thanks Sonthi. Any contribution to PAD will be warmly welcomed.

Feel free drug loads. Thaksin is no longer here. Don't forget to thanks Sonthi. Any contribution to PAD will be warmly welcomed.

You cannot seriously be saying that PAD's protests are increasing drug sales/distributions in the country?

Or are you saying that the extra judicial killings was a smashing success?

I think that the current political situation may be having an affect on the drug situation. The gov't is largely paralysed simply trying to stay in office. In such a situation a lot of things don't get attended to well, one of them being drug enforcement. Another part of the problem is that the country is notorious for having crackdowns on things rather than a sustained effort and combating the problem.