Cops catch more suspects in South Thailand with hundreds of thousands of meth pills

Meth suspects in Chumphon, photo by The Phuket Express.

Cops once again caught suspects in South Thailand with hundreds of thousands of meth pills.

Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau told local media today that on February 9, they arrested four suspects with 400,000 meth pills in Chumphon province.

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The bureau said it was alerted by a concerned citizen that a large amount of meth pills was being transferred to South Thailand, The Phuket Express reported. The bureau then tracked down a car with four suspects and the 400,000 pills.

The suspects were identified as 42 year old Supot Sangprajong, 35 year old Puwadon Longguea, 46 year old Suwit Raksachon, and 34 year old Nitayanart Raksachon. The arrests were made at a main checkpoint on Petchkasem Road. The suspects admitted that they were coming from northeast Thailand.

All four suspects are facing charges of illegal possession of Category 1 Drugs with intent to sell, and are currently being detained for further investigation. The Narcotics Suppression Bureau is continuing its efforts to uncover the larger dealers involved in this illegal drug trade.

The police have been increasingly vigilant in cracking down on drug trafficking in Thailand, which remains a major problem in the country. According to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, methamphetamine is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the country.

The production and distribution of meth in Thailand are dominated by organized criminal networks, including those with connections to international drug trafficking networks.

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The availability of meth in Thailand is high, and its affordability is relatively low compared to other countries in the region, making it a popular drug among young people and lower-income individuals.

The Thai government has taken steps to address the drug problem, including implementing law enforcement operations, increasing the availability of drug treatment and rehabilitation services, and launching public awareness campaigns.

Despite these efforts, the problem of meth abuse in Thailand remains a significant challenge, and the country continues to face a high rate of drug-related arrests, overdoses, and other related harms.

Meth continues to be the most popular, cheap, and readily available illicit narcotic in Thailand and Southeast Asia, where the synthetic drug trade is booming.

In 2021 alone, more than one billion meth pills were seized in east and Southeast Asia, according to a report released by the United Nations. The UN considers it the “drug of greatest concern” in the region.

In April 2021, Thai police arrested more than 120,000 drug suspects in the past six months. They seized more than 2.4 billion baht in assets and confiscated more than 260 million pills of illegal substances, including meth.

Crime News

Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.

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