Assistant army chief Paiboon Khumchaya has voiced concern over the severity of the drug problem in Bangkok and ordered state agencies to step up efforts to combat the situation.
Speaking at a meeting of anti-drug agencies Thursday, Gen Paiboon, who is head of legal and judicial affairs for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said Bangkok has become the centre of drug problems, with the number of drug users estimated to be at least 3 million.
He is concerned that less than 30% of drug problems in the capital have been solved so far.
Drug trafficking and drug abuse are rampant at schools, educational institutions, night entertainment venues and dormitories, Gen Phaiboon said, adding that many drug cases have involved prisoners engaging in illicit drug trading behind bars.
Gen Paiboon said agencies have failed to coordinate efforts to tackle the problem and entertainment venues are still allowed to operate near schools.
He has ordered the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to devise an anti-drug master plan to integrate state agencies in more efficient anti-drug operations in Bangkok.
He also instructed the Corrections Department to take swifter action against inmates dealing drugs.
He stressed the need for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Royal Thai Police, and the Education Ministry to support anti-drug operations.
In Chiang Mai, police yesterday announced the arrest of two drug suspects and the seizure of about 80,000 of a new kind of speed pill, known as "frung-fring". The street price of the drugs was estimated to be 16 million baht, police said.
The suspects — Suppakit Phanthapreechakorn, 25, a Muser hilltribesman, and Pa Ufu, 19, a Lahu hilltribesman — were caught and the drugs seized on Chiang Mai-Fang Road in Fang district on Wednesday. They allegedly told police they were hired for 30,000 baht each to deliver the drugs.
The new pills were mixed with a chemical that makes them glow in the dark. They are popular with teenage users.