Despite floods, Patong drug crackdown continues

Despite heavy floods in Phuket, police are continuing to crack down on drugs in Patong, particularly on Bangla Road. Last night, Patong Police and Kathu district officials conducted random drug tests on the road.

The team targeted touts working on the road who are registered as living in Kathu. The team tested 117 people out of the 195 on its list. Out of the 62 males who were tested, two tested positive. The two who tested positive were offered a chance to enrol in a drug rehabilitation programme, according to the report.

The report said that out of the 55 females tested, none tested positive for drugs, The Phuket News reported.

Police will now continue to meet with business operators. Kathu District Chief Siwat Rawarangkul said the campaign to drug test “random” individuals would continue as part of an ongoing war on drugs.

The recent drug testing was carried out just a day after Patong Police set up two checkpoints at both ends of Bangla Road. Police checked people for weapons, and illegal drugs and whether some of those suspects were on their wanted list.

In the past few weeks, there have been a few incidents in Patong involving drugs and weapons, including on Bangla Road. Last week, a staffer at a venue on Bangla Road tested positive for drugs. This was after police conducted a major drug testing crackdown on five venues on the road. Patong Police drug tested nearly 184 staffers, and one tested positive.

Also last week, police found drugs and weapons in a man’s minivan in Patong. The police found nine meth pills, a gun, 10 bullets, a knife, and an axe in the minivan.

It looks like Patong’s drug crackdown isn’t ending any time soon.