Traffickers switch routes into Thailand

Bangkok Post
Drug traffickers are entering Thailand via the Lao instead of the Burmese border before crossing the Mekong river to the Northeast and East and then heading to Bangkok, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Major drug problems re-emerged in Thailand from last year. Trafficking routes have changed. Instead of coming into Thailand via Burma they are arriving from Laos, said Kitti Limchaikij, secretary-general of the ONCB.

The drugs were later sent to the Northeast and the East, which were used as storage points, before being sent on to Bangkok.

High demand for drugs, particularly methamphetamine, crystal meth or ice and heroin, was a major factor behind the spread of drugs in towns.

''The use of the drug ice is rampant in most areas, particularly among wealthy users and night revellers who are fond of taking the drugs. The production areas of this type of narcotics are not only on the Thai-Malaysia border, but also in northern border areas of Burma. Thailand is being used as a storage point for ice that is destined for European countries,'' said the ONCB secretary-general.

He confirmed that production bases of narcotics were still in border areas of neighbouring countries. Drug gangs had not relocated production bases. They had only changed their transit routes.

Since 2005, drug smuggling has been rampant, he said. The trafficking problem became much more severe during holiday periods such as the Songkran festival, when more people travelled.