Drugs arrests almost double

PHUKET: Police figures released today show that 80 people were arrested for involvement with narcotics between June 1 and June 25, nearly double the number of arrests for drug offences during the same period in May. In 70 separate busts, police netted just under 6,000 ya bah pills. Of these, 4,050 were seized on Sunday in the province’s unofficial largest haul, in which two alleged major dealers were arrested. Gambling held its customary top spot in the statistics, with 346 people arrested in 232 police raids – 88 more arrests than in May. The number of illegal immigrants arrested rose to 259 from 95 in the same period last month. Two murders were reported in the period. Both were solved, with two men being arrested. Other arrests included two for rape, 13 for assault, 12 for possession of offensive weapons, 30 for theft and 20 for prostitution. One man was arrested on a charge of publishing indecent material, in a case involving a pornographic video.