The spectacular lack of success of two raids that were expected to become notable moves in the campaign against drugs has ended up highlighting a known flaw in police work that desperately needs to be fixed.
On Saturday, soldiers, police, volunteers, officials and the press met at an assembly point in Muang district of Phitsanulok province at 1.20am. Their mission was to raid all entertainment venues in the city. The operation involved five teams which would check all suspicious night haunts on a list compiled after complaints were received by police.
It was all looking quite impressive. Drugs must be wiped out from all corners of the country, and Phitsanulok should not be an exception.
The authorities kicked off the operation at the Teachers’ Saving Office and moved off to their targets. What they found was disconcerting — all of the targeted night spots were closed. They were obviously upset.
Officials of the northern province admitted the plan had been leaked to the operators of those venues who then simply decided to shut their doors before the law enforcers showed up.
A day earlier in Bangkok, soldiers and drug authorities from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board kicked off an even bigger operation with a more ambitious mission.
On that Friday, a 400-strong team — minus sniffer dogs, reporters and cameramen — met at 5am. Their targets were 11 communities suspected of widespread drugs in Prawet, Suan Luang, Bang Na, Phra Khanong, Watthana, Pathumwan, Klong Toey, Bang Rak, Bang Kholaem, Yannawa and Sathon districts.
The authorities were split into several teams to search houses suspected of having illegal narcotics in those neighbourhoods. The operation began at 5.30am and ended four and a half hours later with 30 houses searched.
They came up with 18 suspects charged with possessing and taking drugs. Anything else? Just 13 tablets of methamphetamine, 1.5 grammes of crystal methamphetamine, four small packages of marijuana, a half pill of ecstasy and one pack of ketamine. A .38 pistol and eight bullets, as well as 51,410 baht in cash were also confiscated.
It looked impressive enough — except for one missing thing. No big fish.
The Bangkok authorities, too, laid the blame for their meagre results on their plans being leaked before they could make a move. The key drug sellers had fled before they arrived.
The campaign against drugs is high on the list of Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and other top brass sitting on the National Council for Peace and Order. Public support is behind them on this issue as several polls have shown the people want to see all illicit drugs stamped out.
Soldiers in several provinces have taken the lead in missions joined by officials from other agencies to arrest traffickers, sellers and users. But what happened to the two operations last week in Phitsanulok and Bangkok exposed the same old problem that has hampered similar efforts in the past.
The one in Phitsanulok can be called an empty-handed operation as it caught no one and seized nothing. The one in Bangkok cannot be considered a failure — but it was a close call as the main targets were strangely gone from the scene long before the knock on the door.
The "big fish" can never be caught if they know in advance when authorities will visit their places of "business". Those who leak the plans can be anybody from soldiers to officials close to the raid or even journalists invited to witness, report and take pictures of their operations.
Instead of coming back from the raids and complaining bitterly about another failed mission, it would be better for authorities to spend time finding out who leaked the information and finding better ways to keep operations secret.
The big fish of the drug trade must be caught and nailed. Entertainment venue operators who defy the law and are suspected of selling drugs must be apprehended. But they will be hard to catch if they know of the raids ahead of time.
It will continue to be a waste of time and energy if authorities can find only the small fish and even worse when they cannot find anybody at all like what happened in Phitsanulok in the early hours of Saturday.
Saritdet Marukatat is digital media news editor, Bangkok Post.