Drugs summit in Phuket

PHUKET TOWN: The National Security Council held a meeting today behind closed doors at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to discuss ways of combating drug proliferation in Thailand. Sixty officials from the central government and Phuket reviewed results so far in the current “war on drugs” at the meeting, which was chaired by Kachadpai Burusapatana, Secretary General of the National Security Council. K. Kachadpai told reporters that one of the most serious problems was the involvement of government officials themselves in the drug trade. “Government officials must have good morals and discipline, and be responsible, for the sake of the nation,” he said. The meeting in Phuket is the first in the South following three meetings in northern provinces aimed at raising awareness and involving local officials in combating the drug trade. “They [local authorities] must act as the centers for coordination and operations in this matter,” K. Kachadpai said. “We will only be truly successful when we can get the people of this country to help and to act together in fighting this scourge.” K. Kachadpai also noted that drugs are less of a problem in the South than they are elsewhere in Thailand.