Police told to get better results

[Yann55]

the drug trade in Thailand is run by the police. its going to be very difficult to do anything about it. arresting or exterminating dealers that arent part of the police only monopolizes their control of the market more.

... which is precisely what happened during Thaksin's (in)famous 'war on drugs' (2003), you are totally right slygeeza

Edited June 7, 2014 by Yann55

[hutchings1963]

This has to be a joke,a man arrested in thailand for smoking yaba only has to have a friend pay 10.000bht then hes free then later they get there money back from the police,

[lomatopo]

It's weird. The Military can take over the country, and run everything: economy, education, transport, foreign affairs, etc., but they can't stop the drug trade. For this vital effort they slough it off onto the RTP which they've already deemed corrupt, incompetent and in need of total reform.

Go figure.

Maybe put the RTP in charge of reining in the insurgents in the troubled south? Dealing with those pesky Cambodians at Phra Vihear?

[Yann55]

I don't blame Thais as they are a product of centuries of absolute monarchy (until 82 years ago), absolute military dictatorship (for most of those 82 years since the end of absolute monarchy) and live in a society were the privileged few (i.e. Chalerm's son) are exempt from punishment of any kind and regular folk have the hammer dropped on them (i.e. mushroom pickers). Activists are disappeared or murdered. Even the 'pu yai' (big man) have to kow tow to higher up 'pu yai'. This environment creates apathy. Best to keep your head down and not draw attention to one's self. I understand and sympathize. I don't agree that the 'people' can clean up the police. The police are a highly developed mafia with the power of the 'state' behind them. Even if it was in their nature (and it is not), regular people cannot stand up to the police. Evidence will be planted on them or they will simply disappear. I do have hope the NCPO has the power to reorganize the police but it is a Herculean task.

New Yorkers (and Americans in general), in contrast, feel equal to the President or anyone else and can get quite indignant when confronted with evidence of those in power abusing their authority. All of a sudden, everyone gets on their moral high-horse and condemns the corrupt actions. This is a good thing but now that same attitude has progressed to the point that even non politically correct speech is punished. Americans have become too intolerant while Thais are too tolerant.

Wow, you sure don't mince your words ... how refreshing and challenging that is... usually 'unminced' words are pure ranting around here but in your case it's plain common sense, intelligence and insight. I especially love the phrase about what political correctness has done to free speech in the US... so true. Your obvious deep understanding of Thai society keeps you from passing stereotyped judgements and that is also unusual. Thanks !

[rametindallas]

quote : He said officials strictly must not be involved in trading illicit drugs.

I have to say I absolutely loooove that one... I guess from now on when they give their guns to the policemen for the first time there will be is a special training session where they are told in all earnestness that these weapons are not to be used for :

- bank robberies

- extortion

- personal revenge

- wife removal

- threatening neighbors who complain because you made too much noise last night

- and a few other things I can't think of right now but you guys are welcome to fill in the blanks.

Don't forget the ever-popular murder-for-hire service they offer.

[NoshowJones]

I don't know the army are starting to win me over with the way they are scolding the police into actually doing some work

But then you have Prauth talking about the need for kids to learn about "being Thai" more in schools like they haven't all been getting that knocked into their heads since birth

It's based on the Nth Korean model where everyone unconditionally supports little kimmie and the military or else. More brainwashing and the ability to have individual thoughts and feelings has to be removed from Thais then there is be no more Suthep protests and everyone will walk around like robots with exactly the same thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F1cYb9xYQIU

Ha Ha ha !!

Not working out so well for you now Red Chook.

The Red Brainwashing is being reversed and the reds are going to jail for all their crimes.

Actually I think the reds are low life pieces of trash and their leader should be in jail, so if that makes a red supporter then so be it. I also think the other side is just as bad. The people caught in the middle are the ones I really support.

I full agree Chooka.

[NoshowJones]

Ginjag, I think what Chooka means is as far as the protesting was concerned, the Reds and Sutheps mob are as bad as one another because they were responsible for people losing their livelihood etc etc, I don't think I need to go on.

[razer]

"He said officials strictly must not be involved in trading illicit drugs."

Official's thinking; Oh damn! Now you tell me!

[Benmart]

I don't know the army are starting to win me over with the way they are scolding the police into actually doing some work

But then you have Prauth talking about the need for kids to learn about "being Thai" more in schools like they haven't all been getting that knocked into their heads since birth

It's based on the Nth Korean model where everyone unconditionally supports little kimmie and the military or else. More brainwashing and the ability to have individual thoughts and feelings has to be removed from Thais then there is be no more Suthep protests and everyone will walk around like robots with exactly the same thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F1cYb9xYQIU

I have not been to or lived in North Korea, therefore I can't comment with any degree of credibility. To compare Thailand to North Korea is like comparing a stage performer to a paranoid recluse.

[Bakseeda]

I don't know the army are starting to win me over with the way they are scolding the police into actually doing some work

But then you have Prauth talking about the need for kids to learn about "being Thai" more in schools like they haven't all been getting that knocked into their heads since birth

It's based on the Nth Korean model where everyone unconditionally supports little kimmie and the military or else. More brainwashing and the ability to have individual thoughts and feelings has to be removed from Thais then there is be no more Suthep protests and everyone will walk around like robots with exactly the same thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F1cYb9xYQIU

You mean the same as Australia Chooka .... same end result... Its why so many Australians live here in Thailand.. seems Australians don't need a visa now , they can claim Refugee status...Right..?

[The Deerhunter]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Yes but only 40% of the extrajudicial killings were drug related and they were probably only kikking off the competition. Did you notice the comment that "officials must absolutely NOT be involved in dealing in illicit drugs"???????? That should tell us something. The cleaning out will continue. The ones who get arrested in the next 30 days will be "pumped" for leads to officials involvd in the trade by plea-bargaining deals, and so it will continue. As someone else said, must be some real nervous BIB's out there. But they are not all bad.so even they will be glad to see the bad ones gone.

[Hawk]

The police have been getting good results for years, but nobody heard about this because the dealers etc paid off the cops before the cases went public/to court. Police everywhere in Thailand have been raking in the cash, the army thing is nothing more than a lull in business as usual. The Thai police will/can do as they please, nothing will ever change that fact.

[Morch]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

so whats your solution carry on as normal,there is some awful drugs out there nowadays..i dont mean grass..

The most awful of drugs like Oxycontin and various Bath Salts are completely legal. And yes I mean legalize all of it from grass to Ya Ba and Heroin. If there is demand, there will always be a supply, and the recent spate of drug killings shows you that even thousands of deaths cannot stop the drug trade, the profits and demand is just too high. Efforts should be made to educate people, especially teenagers on how certain drugs affect and damage your body. If it was legalized, it could be regulated so that it would be out of reach from teenagers. Im sure there are plenty of drug dealers who sell Ya Ba to kids without even caring a single bit.

And anyway, once really good quality cannabis, ecstasy (which is much safer than tobacco and alcohol), mushrooms and LSD are legalized, the demand for extremely dangerous drugs like Ya Ba and Heroin will die a natural death.

Are you serious? That - Ya Ba and Heroin are dangerous - and that Mushrooms and LSD and 'ecstacy' are OK?

Firstly learn how to spell when you name drugs. Even the pharmaceuticals. Oxycontin? Spell it right!

Secondly, when you talk about 'ecstacy' being safer than tobacco or alcohol - you need to do your research a lot more.

That 'ecstacy' (as you call it) is a major threat to kids and to society. It is a very serious threat to people.

Do you even know how it works? What it is? How it is made? The effects it has on your brain and spinal fluids?

My son died from drugs. He was 21 years old.

I am a highly qualified scientist.

I do not subscribe to this stuff you wrote at all. It is BS.

Wake up!

While I agree about the legalization of substances (your main point), - I cannot agree with your lack of knowledge.

I am truly sorry for you loss, and guess some of the opinions here stand in direct contradiction to your personal experience

and tragedy.

MDMA, by itself, is associated with a rather low figures when it comes to death cases.

It is, however, present in other drug related death cases - often when mixed with other substances, and often involving

overdoses and ill informed use. These factors are largely to do with it being illegal in most places, therefore resulting in

lack of regulation and proper education.

I would say that there are more death cases related to use and abuse of other substances (amongst them, such legal

things as alcohol and tobacco).

[Thailand]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Yes if you shoot 10 people

at least 10% will have some thing to do with drugs

the other 90% are just expendable Thais

Some countries call that collateral damage.

[Morch]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

so whats your solution carry on as normal,there is some awful drugs out there nowadays..i dont mean grass..

The mere using of illicit drugs in clearly not the problem. Not everyone who uses illicit drugs will abuse them. A small percentage of drug users will develop abuse problems (as with alcohol) and can be plucked out of their situation and treated for a fraction of what enforcement costs. Some of the hidden costs of enforcement are the corrupting of the police and enriching of the mafia. So many persons in the world use illicit drugs and yet the world goes on. Switzerland and the Netherlands are examples of countries that treat illicit drug use as health issues and nobody would argue that those countries are dysfunctional.

I think it more of a temporary social convention, or moral hurdle.

At various times in history and in various places, use of certain substances was accepted while others were forbidden (or

frowned upon). Consider Prohibition in the USA.

Pretty sure that given a way to wiggle out of the moral rhetoric, many governments and big pharma would love legalization

and regulation, a lot of money to be had in sales and taxes. Might save a bunch on law enforcement and health care.

Guess it has a lot to do with business interests as well, then. Obviously some earning more of the current situation.

Got to wonder how will global legalization of some substances effect certain economies in which these are a main component.

[Stradavarius37]

The police have been getting good results for years, but nobody heard about this because the dealers etc paid off the cops before the cases went public/to court. Police everywhere in Thailand have been raking in the cash, the army thing is nothing more than a lull in business as usual. The Thai police will/can do as they please, nothing will ever change that fact.

I think you are opin' ing more than you can prove.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Fat Haggis]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

Correct, you will never completely eradicate drugs anywhere, but you can sure make it hell and extremely difficult to operate which in turn might just reduce the level of use. Especially if they target the top of the supply chain.

as long as there's a demand, there will be a supply.

[AleG]

A friend of mine just said this..

A little difficult to digest at first but it kinda makes sense

"What ppl don't understand is that getting drug dealers off the streets aren't the answer. Ex-judicial culling is preferred since if they are jailed, the state will have to pay for their meals and utilities, hence thinning the lining in personal pockets"

I even remember when cullings were

enforced, dealers and users alike

were shaking in their boots!

The 1500 innocents killed on the War on Drugs is only a small price to pay for the morose delectation of those that supported it, right?

[billd766]

Out last night a number of police checkpoints, for drink driving, army there to make sure they do it, along with some army "Selfies" with police.

Maybe a good thing, but how about paying the Police a living wage so they don't have to be part of problem.

Only when each individual can prove after real police training, that he is sound in actual police job description.

His main role is to protect the general public and fight against crime, walking about the neighbourhood talking to the people and observing, put a police house in every village -having this presence to eliminate drugs, drunkenness, theft, hooligans.

Having this police house amongst the not so good families would reign them in so much.

Out in rural Thailand where I live most villages or small clusters of villages do have their own police house and policemen. These are the low level underpaid policemen that are nowhere on the corruption scale. They can't afford to be as they live amongst the villagers but they do have a pretty good idea of what is going on locally.

Edited June 7, 2014 by billd766

[Artisi]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Yes if you shoot 10 people

at least 10% will have some thing to do with drugs

the other 90% are just expendable Thais

Some countries call that collateral damage.

Would you still be sprouting this crap if the other 9 were part of your family. Won't think so - but then you can never be sure how some people think

[Morch]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

so whats your solution carry on as normal,there is some awful drugs out there nowadays..i dont mean grass..

The most awful of drugs like Oxycontin and various Bath Salts are completely legal. And yes I mean legalize all of it from grass to Ya Ba and Heroin. If there is demand, there will always be a supply, and the recent spate of drug killings shows you that even thousands of deaths cannot stop the drug trade, the profits and demand is just too high. Efforts should be made to educate people, especially teenagers on how certain drugs affect and damage your body. If it was legalized, it could be regulated so that it would be out of reach from teenagers. Im sure there are plenty of drug dealers who sell Ya Ba to kids without even caring a single bit.

And anyway, once really good quality cannabis, ecstasy (which is much safer than tobacco and alcohol), mushrooms and LSD are legalized, the demand for extremely dangerous drugs like Ya Ba and Heroin will die a natural death.

what I find strange is that the only people that tell people that drugs are ok are those hooked on them. I have many mates in their 50's in Australia that continually say that smoking grass has no ill effects and is better for you than alcohol etc, the fact that they are totally paranoid and cannot control themselves without their daily rations goes right over their heads. Drugs designed to relieve pain may be just as bad but at least they are doing what they are meant to, relieving the pain due to injury, not just giving the user a high because they cannot hack their life without it because of their lack of will power, if you have to do recreational drugs it just shows how pathetic you really are.

Well, a lot of people need tobacco or alcohol to get through the day.

Get them off their ciggies and booze and they can be every bit as jumpy and unpleasant as what you describe.

If one holds the position that use of any "recreational" substance is problematic, wouldn't that mean supporting

these two being outlawed?

On a personal level, I do not think that people using recreational substances, of whatever kind, are pathetic. It

is more a choice of flavor, and a personal health decision. As long as it does not harm others, shouldn't matter

all that much what one chooses to put inside one's body. Things can get out of hand and substances used as a

crutch, true enough. But that is not specifically connected with recreational "drugs" as such.

Saying that there are no long term negative effects is probably wrong, more like a different set of effects, and a

different set of related health issues.

Not advocating drug use, just not condemning people for their personal preferences.

Having experimented with quite a few things over the years (well in the past, though), I normally avoid telling

people that this or that are ok. I'd give whatever information and reservations I got, maybe. Not up for taking

responsibility for other people's decisions on this sort of things. Can't say I'm "hooked" on anything, by the

way, although playing it safe and keeping them water of life in a place not too easy to reach .

[Fat Haggis]

This whole thread has been about the drug trade. Ok, fair enough: a serious problem.

But what about the other parts of police work? I would absolutely love to see some police cruisers in Thai cities just doing nothing more onerous than stopping speeding or insane driving and bringing the full force of the law against offenders.

Has anyone here ever seen a police cruiser chasing a car or truck or m/bike cos they are speeding????

I was stopped for going through an orange light in Korat, I was doing about 40 kmph and was entering the lights when they changed, rather than rapidly brake to stop before it turned red, I continued through it, and was pursued by a cop on a motorbike, just my bad luck that I was also on my way back to work that day and all my ID stuff was in my travel bag, I was given a 2,000 baht fine, for not having an ID on me and for going through a red light, totally my own fault, and although I suspect that the "fine" was excessive, I paid it none the less.

So they do stop speeding motorists and I've seen them with their lights on chasing truck drivers who are all over the road too, I guess it depends on where you are?

Whenever there's a "party" in the village, there's always 2-3 coppers turn up from Nong Bun Mak as well, they sit back and watch the show, and on the very odd and rare occasion there will be a patrol vehicle turn up, I've only seen this twice in the 2 years I've lived there.

[makkam]

I don't know the army are starting to win me over with the way they are scolding the police into actually doing some work

But then you have Prauth talking about the need for kids to learn about "being Thai" more in schools like they haven't all been getting that knocked into their heads since birth

It's based on the Nth Korean model where everyone unconditionally supports little kimmie and the military or else. More brainwashing and the ability to have individual thoughts and feelings has to be removed from Thais then there is be no more Suthep protests and everyone will walk around like robots with exactly the same thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F1cYb9xYQIU

Another one who probably lauds the 'foul fattie' aka Clive Palmer.

[kriswillems]

The last people that came to hire an room in our apartment, didn't pay, destroyed the whole room and were picked up for drugs, were soldiers... Their army boss, who signed the rental agreement, was so fair to pay half back of the things they destroyed. so, I welcome this action. However, I am sure that not only police officer are into the drugs business.

Edited June 7, 2014 by kriswillems

[Trembly]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Unfortunately 'Thaksin's way' gave less-than-squeaky-clean police carte blanche to shoot and kill just about anyone, no questions asked.

At it's best it was an exercise in quantity over quality anyway ... Kingpins don't tend to get shot like dogs in the street in any country.

[bigbamboo]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Fortunately Prayuth is not Thaksin.

[Fat Haggis]

Didn't Thaksin have a way of dealing with drug dealers?

Fortunately Prayuth is not Thaksin.

No but he is head of the Army that have being caught dodgy stuff going on down in the South

[RedRoadRunner]

...it looks like the Army means business.....

[GAZZPA]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

So what is your suggestion for alternatives? Let everyone just get on with it? Isn't the best way education on one side and enforcing the law on the other?

If we create a stigma around drugs so that people see it as the disgusting habit it is, a habit that damages themselves other individuals and society in general then it will reduce for sure. Just look at what has happened to cigarettes, today there is a real stigma attached to smoking whereas not too long ago it was considered "cool" to smoke.

Problem is there are too many idiots who claim the harmless nature of certain drugs and even argue the case about legalizing them.

[Morch]

You will never get rid of drugs, if you can't even get rid of it in prison... When are these fools going to realize that

So what is your suggestion for alternatives? Let everyone just get on with it? Isn't the best way education on one side and enforcing the law on the other?

If we create a stigma around drugs so that people see it as the disgusting habit it is, a habit that damages themselves other individuals and society in general then it will reduce for sure. Just look at what has happened to cigarettes, today there is a real stigma attached to smoking whereas not too long ago it was considered "cool" to smoke.

Problem is there are too many idiots who claim the harmless nature of certain drugs and even argue the case about legalizing them.

There's a change of attitude, in some parts of the world, with respect to smoking cigarettes.

Yet people are free to smoke them, although not in a way that effects others - that is in private or at designated places.

Same rules apply, usually, for consumption of alcohol.

How are these two different or less "disgusting" than usage of other substances?

People ought to be educated about the dangers of using substances, and make their own decisions in this regard.