Huge drug hauls have been seized in joint busts around the Mekong River by Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and China, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) says.
Thai and Lao patrol boats ply the Mekong River in Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai, in a joint operation to thwart drug trafficking. The joint effort is part of the "Safe Mekong" drug-bust campaign, being carried out by Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and China. Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
The operation, under the code-name "Safe Mekong", was launched last month, ONCB secretary-general Permphong Chavalit said.
Chinese authorities have confiscated about one million methamphetamine tablets and 200kg of precursors, he said, while ONCB officers have seized 70-million-baht of assets belonging to drug networks in Chiang Rai.
Intelligence has revealed that drug couriers are finding it difficult to shift illicit substances across the border due to stringent checks by authorities in countries along the Mekong River, Mr Permphong said.
He was speaking after a meeting between drug suppression officials from the four countries held at Ban Mom Pier in Pong town of Myanmar's Shan state yesterday.
Participants included the deputy chief of border patrol police in China's Yunnan province, Pol Sen Col Jin Shang Wen; drug suppression officer and Myanmar co-ordinator of the Safe Mekong Co-ordination Centre, Pol Lt Col Myint Htoo; and Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision officer, Pudsawat Suntra.
"China, especially, is on high alert to tackle the drug problem because 80% of drugs from the Golden Triangle are trafficked there from Thailand," Mr Permphong said.
"Myanmar authorities are also concerned about drug problems in Pong and Mom towns, especially because a road linking Myanmar and Laos's Luang Prabang is due to open next month."
Myanmar has been piling pressure on minority groups running drug networks in Hsat and Tachileik to stop their operations because the country's interior minister fears the drug money will give them too much power, Mr Permphong said.
The four countries have also shared information about arrest warrants for drug suspects to locate ones who have fled across their borders, as part of a region-based approach to tackling the drugs menace.
Thai officials have the names of 10 suspects ready to be forwarded to their counterparts. China has supplied the names of 49, he said.
Since "Safe Mekong" was launched, drug prevention and suppression has improved, with the Chinese government and riverside communities praising the campaign, Pol Sen Col Wen said.
Drugs from the Golden Triangle, including crystal methamphetamine, heroin and opium, have spread into Yunnan province.
The operation will help to address this development, he said.
Myanmar has tripled its patrol forces since the operation started and several drug trafficking attempts have since been scuppered, Pol Lt Col Myint Htoo said.
Officers at Chiang Saen Customs House in Chiang Rai recently seized more than 20 tonnes of methylene chloride — a chemical compound used in the manufacture of methamphetamine and speed pills — in a container at the port, said customs chief Sathit Phuhormcharoen.