Holes In Thailand's Drug Fences

[webfact]

Holes in Thailand's drug fences

By Brian McCartan

CHIANG MAI: -- Thailand is losing its latest war on drugs as methamphetamine, heroin, opium, ketamine, cocaine and ecstasy continue to flood across its porous borders. A rise in production and trafficking related to tensions between Myanmar's military government and narco-trafficking ethnic insurgent groups based near the Thai border have undermined Bangkok's efforts, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) annual world report.

Large narcotics seizures have increased in Thailand over the past year. The English-language daily Bangkok Post reported the seizure of over 300,000 methamphetamine pills in Bangkok on May 29. On June 22, police in the northern province of Chiang Mai intercepted a six-wheel truck en route to Bangkok with 1.2 million methamphetamine tablets on board.

Thailand in April 2009 embarked on its so-called "Five Fences" counter-narcotics campaign, aimed at curbing trafficking and abuse at the national, district and village levels.

story continues HERE

-- ASIA TIMES online

2010-07-13

[BanTamo]

might want to plug the gaping 'hole' in the drug fence at khao phra wiharn ...

[jonnybgood]

I had the pleasure of spending a few nights in the Pattaya soi 9 police cells, the police there openly sell yaba to the inmates, and by all accounts drugs are available in all Thai prisons, the drug trade in Thailand is controlled and run by the police in my observation, it wont be going away in a hurry

Edited July 13, 2010 by jonnybgood

[Thai at Heart]

Thailand in April 2009 embarked on its so-called "Five Fences" counter-narcotics campaign

Glad to see that they did such a fine job of explaining their "Five Fences" policy. Anyone ever heard about this? Must have got drowned out during the unrest.

Reading the article, I see that Suthep is involved in some way or another. Suthep and failed policy in the same article. What a surprise.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Thai at Heart

[avidflyer]

I'm not sure, but maybe a better phrase would be "run by police" rather than "run by the police." But maybe you are correct. But in any case, the police dealers do have some competition.

[david555]

Do not worry , when (?) Thaksin comes back in power he will deal with them his way .........! :jap:

[kuffki]

I know it may sound stupid, but for drug smuggling to increase-there must be a demand for it.

so perhaps the problem is NOT the hole but the consumers.

PS. Every country has the same problem and is fighting a never ending battle, why does Thailand think they can win?

[chainarong]

There's gaping holes in all of Thailand, not only drug problems, how do you fix it , well sadly you don't , to perform the impossible takes time, miracles take for ever

[jonnybgood]

I'm not sure, but maybe a better phrase would be "run by police" rather than "run by the police." But maybe you are correct. But in any case, the police dealers do have some competition.

yes, but there must be either extreme incompetence or extreme nativity at the top for this to go on, only take a few urine tests to stop it but maybe its simpler to pretend its not happening, but I did get the feeling that the yaba addicts are being rounded up so they could be monopolised as a market and hidden from the public

[surangw]

more holes than fence it seems

[bangkokburning]

"mainly from Myanmar and Laos"

So, Cambodia is looking like a pretty good neighbor here - no? Just asking with all the nonsense brewing on the border w/ Cambodia.

Its the meth and the ketamine - chemical substances that are the truly evil stuff.

[JimShortz]

As Thailand is the hub of so many other things it is hardly surprising to see it doing so well in the global drugs trade. Perhaps it is the spokes radiating out from the many hubs that are penetrating the (de)fences?

[dom samui]

Holes.....i'm loving them

[nisakiman]

The problem is, of course, the approach to drugs. This is not just Thailand's approach, but the global approach.

As long as the powers-that-be make the importation and distribution of drugs a very profitable proposition (by waging war against the trade) they will continue to lose that (very expensive) war. For whatever they do, the drugs cartels will be one step ahead of them.

The legislators of the world seem to be suffering a case of collective amnesia about the American experiment with prohibition in the 20s, it's singular lack of success, and the plethora of unintended consequences which sprang from that misguided legislation.

But nothing will change. They will remain blind to the futility of the pursuit of failed policies because it requires real political courage to address the problem sensibly, and there are no politicians willing to put their heads above the parapet.

[warni]

I had the pleasure of spending a few nights in the Pattaya soi 9 police cells, the police there openly sell yaba to the inmates, and by all accounts drugs are available in all Thai prisons, the drug trade in Thailand is controlled and run by the police in my observation, it wont be going away in a hurry

Yes they sell drugs to addicted people and also try to reinforce inmates to be willingness and after, abusing them for what ever they(police) want.

Edited July 14, 2010 by warni

[YouYouYou]

"mainly from Myanmar and Laos"

So, Cambodia is looking like a pretty good neighbor here - no? Just asking with all the nonsense brewing on the border w/ Cambodia.

A little misleading: a lot of 'ya ice' does come over the border from Cambodia and according to sources studying the drug traffic trade at Chulalongkorn University, much of this ends up in Pattaya and the surrounding area.

(ongoing project from 2007 to date and part of a wider project looking at social impacts and narcotic/substance abuse within the younger generation. It will probably be finalised sometime next year and published in English also)

[geriatrickid]

I had the impression that drug exports were a viable source of FX for the Burmese junta, in effect a state sanctioned enterprise. The contraband can't enter Thailand unless there is complicity at the Thai border. This then brings us back to the issue at the root of Thailand's problems: Corruption. Until the military, police and government officals implicated are stopped no amount of crackdowns, or even a legalization will work.

Anyone calling for legalization is a simpleton. As if all the problems would go awat. The vested interests in the trade would never allow a government mandated and regulated industry to operate because it would impact their own profits. People get up in arms at tainted medications that make it to market, but somehow, poisonous yaba produced in the jungle earns the Suzy Homemaker seal of approval. Ever notice that the people calling for a free for all never have a viable plan to deal with the social and economic impact of such a decision? You know things like where to warehouse the addicts etc.

[IvanDobsky]

I had the impression that drug exports were a viable source of FX for the Burmese junta, in effect a state sanctioned enterprise. The contraband can't enter Thailand unless there is complicity at the Thai border. This then brings us back to the issue at the root of Thailand's problems: Corruption. Until the military, police and government officals implicated are stopped no amount of crackdowns, or even a legalization will work.

Anyone calling for legalization is a simpleton. As if all the problems would go awat. The vested interests in the trade would never allow a government mandated and regulated industry to operate because it would impact their own profits. People get up in arms at tainted medications that make it to market, but somehow, poisonous yaba produced in the jungle earns the Suzy Homemaker seal of approval. Ever notice that the people calling for a free for all never have a viable plan to deal with the social and economic impact of such a decision? You know things like where to warehouse the addicts etc.

I understand your opinions on legalisation but if you take the trouble to look at The Netherlands' policies, you can see that they have worked. They have a fraction of the UK's users but drugs are openly available. Heroin addicts in Holland are literally a dying breed. Their average age is getting older every year. Why is that? Due to education mainly. For example, asking former addicts to address schoolchildren has a huge impact. Prevention is better than cure.

Read about the prohibition era in the US. Legalisation takes the supply and profit out of the hands of gangsters.

It also provides a small tax revenue for government programs to wean hard drug users (heroin, crack..etc) off their habit. Take them out of illegality and bring them back into being productive members of society.

Drug wars are futile. Innocent people die, especially during Thaksin-like crackdowns. But dealers are like mushrooms, twenty spring up where there used to be one. The profits are too tempting. Earn 100 baht a day planting corn or 1000 baht in an hour selling a couple of little pink pills? (I'm guessing about the second figure, but you see my point).

I'm not saying meth should be legalised but existing addicts need counseling and some less harmful alternative until they are clean. It's a very difficult issue but there is a way out that most governments will not accept.

[nisakiman]

I had the impression that drug exports were a viable source of FX for the Burmese junta, in effect a state sanctioned enterprise. The contraband can't enter Thailand unless there is complicity at the Thai border. This then brings us back to the issue at the root of Thailand's problems: Corruption. Until the military, police and government officals implicated are stopped no amount of crackdowns, or even a legalization will work.

Anyone calling for legalization is a simpleton. As if all the problems would go awat. The vested interests in the trade would never allow a government mandated and regulated industry to operate because it would impact their own profits. People get up in arms at tainted medications that make it to market, but somehow, poisonous yaba produced in the jungle earns the Suzy Homemaker seal of approval. Ever notice that the people calling for a free for all never have a viable plan to deal with the social and economic impact of such a decision? You know things like where to warehouse the addicts etc.

I understand your opinions on legalisation but if you take the trouble to look at The Netherlands' policies, you can see that they have worked. They have a fraction of the UK's users but drugs are openly available. Heroin addicts in Holland are literally a dying breed. Their average age is getting older every year. Why is that? Due to education mainly. For example, asking former addicts to address schoolchildren has a huge impact. Prevention is better than cure.

Read about the prohibition era in the US. Legalisation takes the supply and profit out of the hands of gangsters.

It also provides a small tax revenue for government programs to wean hard drug users (heroin, crack..etc) off their habit. Take them out of illegality and bring them back into being productive members of society.

Drug wars are futile. Innocent people die, especially during Thaksin-like crackdowns. But dealers are like mushrooms, twenty spring up where there used to be one. The profits are too tempting. Earn 100 baht a day planting corn or 1000 baht in an hour selling a couple of little pink pills? (I'm guessing about the second figure, but you see my point).

I'm not saying meth should be legalised but existing addicts need counseling and some less harmful alternative until they are clean. It's a very difficult issue but there is a way out that most governments will not accept.

You are of course correct in your appraisal.

However, you will get howled down by the "hang-em-high brigade", because they read "The Daily Mail" or "The Sun" or some other equally execrable rag, and believe everything contained therein.

And yes, last time I looked, the average age of a heroin addict in Holland was mid forties, as opposed to the average in UK of about 21.

It's not rocket science, but it's obviously beyond the reasoning powers of many here...

[anotheruser]

The police are not likely to begin arresting themselves. For this reason any suggestion that the problem will ever go away is laughable.

[moe666]

Donot get your knickers in a uproar boys nothing has changed. My first trip back in 1998(first trip 1970) a couple were busted with a million yaba pills in a borrowed SUV belonging to a police major, he disappeared to Burma.

[wintermute]

Donot get your knickers in a uproar boys nothing has changed. My first trip back in 1998(first trip 1970) a couple were busted with a million yaba pills in a borrowed SUV belonging to a police major, he disappeared to Burma.

I guess the real shocker here is that the police major had to flee at all. The big time guys aren't brazen in Thailand but they are pretty much untouchable. When was the last time that Thailand ever busted the "Pablo Escobar" type figures here? The answer..never. Because they are allowed to operate and only the lower middle men and the drug mules get the axe. Western governments were partially involved in the Thai drug trade in the past.. look at the history of the golden triangle and the CIA involvement there.