Drug use “could rise’ in tsunami aftermath

PHUKET: Drug use and drug-related crime could rise as people lose their jobs because of the slump in tourism brought on by the tsunami, the Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police has warned.
Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart said, “The tsunami affected so many people. Employees of big, medium-sized and small companies, laborers and the self-employed have all found themselves out of work.
“Only a few tourists are coming to Phuket, but the labor force is still the same size, and people still have to have money to live.
“If people have no job and no income, they may well turn to crime to get the money they need, or to drugs in order to escape from the reality of their situation.”
Col Kokiat added that the government’s crackdown on drugs had led to a 40% reduction in arrests for drug dealing and drug use in Phuket last year.
He continued, “We are still on the lookout for big dealers, but we haven’t seen anything around Rassada Port and Bang Rong Pier that could be related to the shipment of drugs.”
Join the conversation and have your say on Thailand news published on The Thaiger.
Thaiger Talk is our new Thaiger Community where you can join the discussion on everything happening in Thailand right now.
Please note that articles are not posted to the forum instantly and can take up to 20 min before being visible. Click for more information and the Thaiger Talk Guidelines.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.