PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says drug suppression should to be a national priority

Following the numerous busts involving drugs en route to overseas, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has declared that the suppression of illegal drugs should be an urgent national agenda item. The deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhanadirek made the announcement of the prime minister’s behalf, saying Prayut called for government workers to support the efforts to crack down on drugs.

The spokesperson says funds are being allocated to tackle the illicit drug trade, and new legislation is being drafted, such as bills on the punishment for drug offences and regulations regarding the seizure of assets in drug cases.

In various drug busts since October, police have seized…

• 344 million tablets of methamphetamine
• 20.6 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine
• 2.7 tonnes of heroin
• 279,868 tablets of ecstasy

Rachada added that there were 84 more cases where drugs were en route to other countries when they were seized in Thailand. In those busts, police seized…

• 39,002 tablets of methamphetamine
• 72.08kg of crystal methamphetamine
• 285.69kg of heroin
• 1,922 tablets of ecstasy

Thai authorities have made numerous drug seizures at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport this month, including a bust yesterday where a task force searched a package en route to Australia and found 1.6 kilograms of heroin was found hidden in notebooks.

Earlier this month, the Justice Ministry announced it was now working with foreign agencies to investigate transnational drug trafficking with transit in Thailand. The move followed a major drug seizure in Australia where methamphetamine was seized off a Thai cargo ship.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post