Police have cracked down on the illegal sale of diet pills and arrested four people, one of them connected to a gang involving a doctor, according to deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan.
The crackdown code-named 'Ya Suay Sangharn' (Killer Beauty Pills) zeroed in on 17 locations in eight provinces. Four people — Jaruwan Yamsri, 33, Kanitsinee Jenkijkulkasem, 30, Adisorn Songsermthana, 30, and Patchara Chirawat, 38 — were arrested.
Pol Gen Chalermkiat said the latest operation followed up on a large-scale crackdown in March.
In the latest operation, Ms Jaruwan was alleged to be working for Wirairat Utthong, a financier behind a gang who illegally sold prescription diet pills for profit. Ms Wirairat is wanted by police for finding customers who purchased pills and distributing the money to individuals in the gang.
One alleged recipient of the money was Mr Adisorn who ran a clinic in Phitsanulok where the diet pills were illegally dispensed to customers. He later closed down the clinic in Phitsanulok and opened a new one in Chon Buri, police said.
Police estimated assets owned by the gang are valued at more than 57 million baht.
According to police, the gang has hired newly-graduated doctors or doctors who operate beauty clinics in the provinces to order prescription diet pills from the Food and Drug Administration.
They claimed the pills were to be used by the clinics to treat patients. However, the doctors re-sold the pills online at twice or three times the original prices.
At least one doctor, as well as the four suspects caught on Thursday, have been charged with conspiring to commit offences related to addictive drugs.
The FDA secretary-general, Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, said the agency has streamlined its drug dispensing processes. Orders are thoroughly vetted and individuals who placed them with the FDA must come to the office in person and produce their ID card before they can collect the pills.
The FDA has also cancelled drugs ordered by clinics in trouble with the law. The agency has also requested that the Medical Council of Thailand suspend or revoke the licence of doctors who illegally sell FDA-dispensed drugs.
Dr Tares said police seized in the crackdown yesterday Duromine, which helps with weight reduction in patients who are overweight or obese, and Panbesy used for treating conditions associated with excessive food intake. The two drugs are gaining popularity in the Thai market.
He added the FDA was looking to list Lorcaserin as a controlled drug for weight loss treatment. According to www.webmd.com, Lorcaserin belongs to a class of drugs known as serotonin receptor agonists, thought to work by affecting a certain part of the brain that helps control a person's appetite.