Huge Drug Haul Up North; Several Held: Thailand

[webfact]

Huge drug haul up North; several held

The Nation

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, fourth from left, and National Police commissioner Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew, third left, announce the seizure of illicit drugs and the arrests of many drug suspects at a press conference

BANGKOK: -- Police have seized a total of 2.8 million amphetamine tablets and 31 kilograms of "ice" flakes, valued at more than Bt1 billion, and arrested several people for possessing or trafficking drugs.

The largest haul of 1.3 million amphetamine tablets took place at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai when three pickup trucks were pulled over. Though two vehicles tried to speed away, they were pursued and stopped, police said.

Another 794,000 tablets were seized in Bangkok's Bueng Kum district from a man who was trying to take them to the South. The suspect's initial confessions led to the arrest of another man, who admitted to dealing in drugs with inmates at the Nakhon Si Thammarat prison.

In a sting operation in Chiang Rai, police seized 30kg of ice flakes - a form of methamphetamine - along with 730,000 amphetamine tablets. The shipment, as part of a rendezvous, had been placed along a road and after several hours, a number of couriers showed up to claim the goods. A gunfight with police and soldiers ensued, resulting in the suspects jumping into the Ping River and swimming away.

Police are on the hunt for a Chiang Rai native nameed Sa sae-Thor, who is believed to be behind this exchange.

Police arrested another five suspects in Nakhon Pathom who admitted to selling drugs to inmates at the Samut Sakhon provincial prison. They also nabbed 10,000 tablets, six mobile phones, a pickup truck and two motorcycles that were allegedly used in illegal activities.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said up to 500 million amphetamine tablets were waiting to be smuggled into Thailand, but a team of police officers and soldiers were preparing to intercept the shipment.

He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate.

Chalerm added that a seminar aimed at raising awareness on drugs and further working out long-term solutions would be held on October 28 in Nakhon Ratchasima.

-- The Nation 2012-10-20

[NickMatalski]

Holy fack thats a massive haul!

[theblether]

You're not joking, that's an industrial output.....shocking. I can see some serious trouble ahead, there's been relative peace in the North for the last few years but with the amount of money at stake I can see the level of violence ratcheting up. Scary, and highly concerning.

[lizardtongue]

He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate.

They operate without permits anyway! Just paying tea money seems to do the trick!

There is some serious money at stake here, I can't believe that they get caught the first time they do a run of this size?

[jaltsc]

"He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate."

I'm sure the guy standing on the corner, asking: "Hey Dude. Want to score some good s**t" will not be deterred by not having a night entertainment permit

"Chalerm added that a seminar aimed at raising awareness on drugs and further working out long-term solutions would be held on October 28 in Nakhon Ratchasima."

All those people hooked on meth and other uppers are well aware of drugs. No need for a seminar. As for a long term solution. When you find one, please tell the rest of the nations who have invested billions of dollars to find it. I am sure they are looking to Thailand for the answer.

[asiawatcher]

That looks to be an incredibly big haul, so as I posted recently, get to the manufacturers and these guys would have to be closer to that connection than the street guys with a pocketful to sell. Stop the manufacturers (dead) in their tracks, and it will go a long way to solving the problem. These guys also will face a death penalty I would think, can hardly claim personal use. Sooner the better in my opinion.

[Crazy chef 1]

Supply and demand!!!

[meom]

Stop the manufacturers (dead) in their tracks, and it will go a long way to solving the problem.

Yes let's invade Burma which cranks out an estimated billion tablets a year. And that's just for the Thai market.

[moe666]

That looks to be an incredibly big haul, so as I posted recently, get to the manufacturers and these guys would have to be closer to that connection than the street guys with a pocketful to sell. Stop the manufacturers (dead) in their tracks, and it will go a long way to solving the problem. These guys also will face a death penalty I would think, can hardly claim personal use. Sooner the better in my opinion.

What you are saying sounds good on the surface but thay have been burning cocoa fields in Columbia for years, has the supply of cocaine stopped? f----- no. The war on drugs is a loseing cause with more people dead from it than those actually dieing from the use of drugs..

[simple1]

He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate.

They operate without permits anyway! Just paying tea money seems to do the trick!

There is some serious money at stake here, I can't believe that they get caught the first time they do a run of this size?

Even in Western countries with sophisticated border control/Customs capabilities, governments say that they only interdict about 10% of illegal drug imports. With a major bust, street prices go up for a while until the next large import gets through.

Edited October 20, 2012 by simple1

[redroo]

Great balls of fire!

The thai's are going to be very calm and peaceful for a little while.

No more big headed prik behavior which comes with the use of ice.

Hope they get rid of the source ,

the "cook" .

The packages look suspiciously chinees style.

Thay even have a stamp on them.

Show the kids at the age of 14 ,what its like for an adictict to over dose on speed.

It may help a few from going down this path of self distruction.

A day in day out adict lives about 10years on meth,and then he's fisicly finished.

and then thay need the help of all those they were such a prick too for so long.

[neatfeet12]

Holy crap! Good on them for hauling that lot in, I am impressed for once. Now......can anybody tell me how they are going to 'dispose' of it??

[samjaidee]

Holy fack thats a massive haul!

Yes it is, but look at this sentence from later on.

"Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said up to 500 million amphetamine tablets were waiting to be smuggled into Thailand, but a team of police officers and soldiers were preparing to intercept the shipment."

2.8 million tablets is 0.56% of the 500 million tablets waiting to be delivered. That makes it an almost insignificant amount in real terms.

Of course Chalerm could be wrong about the amount in storage at the moment, as he's almost certainly wrong about the police's ability to stop that much coming across the border.

Governments around the world need to acknowledge that "illegal" drugs are here to stay. The worst drug, with regard to its effect on society, is alcohol, yet it's legal. Tax and control illegal drugs, taking away the power of organised crime, and there can be no doubt that society would benefit.

[tragickingdom]

Besides that the drugs were probably seized because of a tip off (half the Thai people informs on the other half) it shows that the police i luckily dealing with incompetent drug traffickers. Checkpoints are on the Thai roads forever and can generally be easily avoided. The fact that drugs traffickers are not using modern technology like GPS tracking and warning with a second or third car means that there is still a chance that with the right policemen the big producers and traffickers can be outsmarted easily.

[sunshine51]

"Huge drug haul up North; several held".....Bye, Bye You.

[hellodolly]

quote

"He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate."

To elaborate on that topic would be like elaborating on walking o the moon bare naked. Neither one possible. Maybe he needs some ear medicine. Or has too much of it.

Once again grab headlines with meaningless news. As one poster pointed out this was probably not the first haul of this size just the others were delivered.

No people behind the masterminding of the scheme apprehended. No production facilities stopped. Just the normal look at what we are doing. Please do not look at we are not doing to really help solve the problem.

[hellodolly]

Holy crap! Good on them for hauling that lot in, I am impressed for once. Now......can anybody tell me how they are going to 'dispose' of it??

The police have their own distribution channels.

[kma2050]

Australia is looking at legalising cannabis and ecstacy, administered by the Government. A more sensible idea, because cannabis and ecstacy have medical benefits and then the quality and purity are not a health issue to the community. People use drugs because they want to feel good or pain-free and always will. Eventually Governments will work out, that only legalisation and state control will fix the health and crime problem

[hellodolly]

Holy fack thats a massive haul!

Yes it is, but look at this sentence from later on.

"Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said up to 500 million amphetamine tablets were waiting to be smuggled into Thailand, but a team of police officers and soldiers were preparing to intercept the shipment."

2.8 million tablets is 0.56% of the 500 million tablets waiting to be delivered. That makes it an almost insignificant amount in real terms.

Of course Chalerm could be wrong about the amount in storage at the moment, as he's almost certainly wrong about the police's ability to stop that much coming across the border.

Governments around the world need to acknowledge that "illegal" drugs are here to stay. The worst drug, with regard to its effect on society, is alcohol, yet it's legal. Tax and control illegal drugs, taking away the power of organised crime, and there can be no doubt that society would benefit.

Look at the success Portugal has had in their war with drugs.

Not only is drug use down but crime's to get the money to purchase it are down.

Yet they even with the most advanced system in the world still have problems yet to be over come. But they are at least working on a solution.

[TomTao]

Thats one huge haul of highs that won't be delivered. Did Chalerm really drop the ball by saying police and soldiers were waiting for another shipment to come across from Myanmar? Talk about giving a heads up to the smugglers and blowing an operation.

Sent from my GT-I9003

[Banzai99]

Governments around the world need to acknowledge that "illegal" drugs are here to stay. The worst drug, with regard to its effect on society, is alcohol, yet it's legal. Tax and control illegal drugs, taking away the power of organised crime, and there can be no doubt that society would benefit.

The governments around the world that are supported by the Giant Alcohol and Tobacco companies that make huge contributions to political parties would never allow illegal drugs to become legal.

Who would want to get drunk when they could get stoned instead ?

So the 2 drugs that are responsible for millions of deaths per year remain legal, it's all about money, governments don't give a toss how many die, they just look at the bottom line.

If I manufactured a drug that killed millions of people every year, what would people think of me, yet Alcohol and Tobacco do just that but it's legal, therefore accepted.

Take Singapore for example, I can go to Singapore and buy 2 million cigarettes, a million bottles of Whiskey, drink and smoke myself to death, yet get caught with 500 grammes of a plant, cannabis, I will get hung.

If i smoke a joint I would not be buying the government taxed Alcohol, so they will kill me.

It's all about money.

Alcohol and Tobacco companies are just so powerful, governments can't afford to make their products illegal, even though they are responsible for millions of deaths each year.

Edited October 20, 2012 by Banzai99

[Bill999]

That looks to be an incredibly big haul, so as I posted recently, get to the manufacturers and these guys would have to be closer to that connection than the street guys with a pocketful to sell. Stop the manufacturers (dead) in their tracks, and it will go a long way to solving the problem. These guys also will face a death penalty I would think, can hardly claim personal use. Sooner the better in my opinion.

What you are saying sounds good on the surface but thay have been burning cocoa fields in Columbia for years, has the supply of cocaine stopped? f----- no. The war on drugs is a loseing cause with more people dead from it than those actually dieing from the use of drugs..

Don't think the burning of cocoa fields will have any effect on the supply of cocaine, will it? It might result in a few sleepless nights for those who like a cup of it before they sleep though.

[chooka]

Holy crap! Good on them for hauling that lot in, I am impressed for once. Now......can anybody tell me how they are going to 'dispose' of it??

Why, do you want to help?

[chooka]

Australia is looking at legalising cannabis and ecstacy, administered by the Government. A more sensible idea, because cannabis and ecstacy have medical benefits and then the quality and purity are not a health issue to the community. People use drugs because they want to feel good or pain-free and always will. Eventually Governments will work out, that only legalisation and state control will fix the health and crime problem

You are slightly wrong there. A number of petitions have been put forward by drug addicts to have drugs legalised in Australia. Australia has no plans to legalise drugs but it has looked at the option at decriminalising the use of cannabis. First time offenders (use/posses cannabis) will not be charged with a criminal offence but may receive an infringment notice (fine) 2nd and subsequent offenders may be charged with a summary offence and court appearance but not an indictable offence as it is at present. Offenders cultivating and trafficking will still face criminal prosecution.

[kristofferR]

The circle of life - someone gets busted and their competitors have more customers and income for a while...

I wonder how long we (the world) will continue with this senseless policy that incentivizes breaking the law and violence in such a massive way.

When will the world realize that giving criminals gangs a monopoly on the sale of drugs only leads to massive problems?! Hopefully nobody's so naïve that they actually believe that drugs can be stopped - the question isn't if it's going to be sold, the question is how and by whom.

Edited October 20, 2012 by kristofferR

[pomchop]

In a sting operation in Chiang Rai, police seized 30kg of ice flakes - a form of methamphetamine - along with 730,000 amphetamine tablets. The shipment, as part of a rendezvous, had been placed along a road and after several hours, a number of couriers showed up to claim the goods. A gunfight with police and soldiers ensued, resulting in the suspects jumping into the Ping River and swimming away

Isn't the Ping river in Chiang Mai? The river in Chiang Rai is the mae kok....or maybe the ping runs trhough CR province somewhere??

[bumpkin]

Australia is looking at legalising cannabis and ecstacy, administered by the Government. A more sensible idea, because cannabis and ecstacy have medical benefits and then the quality and purity are not a health issue to the community. People use drugs because they want to feel good or pain-free and always will. Eventually Governments will work out, that only legalisation and state control will fix the health and crime problem

Is there any evidence that legalising a drug will reduce the number of addicts or the crimes they commit while intoxicated. Has "legal" alcohol reduced the number of accidents caused by drunks? Addicts still need money to pay for their addiction, whether legal or illegal. Or, am I mistaken here ?

[animatic]

What's worrying is this might still be the decoy load of look-a-likes or bad weak batches,

while twice this amount goes another route in small loads.

Certainly sending sending 20 guys with small loads right after this 'big haul',

might mean the BiB are too busy gloating to be looking still.

[473geo]

quote

"He said the government was aiming to limit or stop the demand for drugs and as a result "no permits for night-entertainment venues to operate would be granted". He did not elaborate."

To elaborate on that topic would be like elaborating on walking o the moon bare naked. Neither one possible. Maybe he needs some ear medicine. Or has too much of it.

Once again grab headlines with meaningless news. As one poster pointed out this was probably not the first haul of this size just the others were delivered.

No people behind the masterminding of the scheme apprehended. No production facilities stopped. Just the normal look at what we are doing. Please do not look at we are not doing to really help solve the problem.

There is one thing sure, the use of 'uppers' would spiral out of control if the general population were widely subjected to your depressing diatribe...this haul would nowhere near cover the requirement!!....you ever thought that if a country tightens up, the confiscation of product is high high value........the the drug producers may look to an alternative to supply where results are more profitable

[473geo]

What's worrying is this might still be the decoy load of look-a-likes or bad weak batches,

while twice this amount goes another route in small loads.

Certainly sending sending 20 guys with small loads right after this 'big haul',

might mean the BiB are too busy gloating to be looking still.

Having to quickly change the methodology carries new risk.......more mistakes are made......the haul is good, good for Thailand, and if the BIB getting a little deserved publicity sticks in the crop of a few Tvisa posters I doubt they will be too disappointed with their result.....