The Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) has asserted that it can accomplish Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's ambition to eradicate drugs and trafficking in 25 of the country's worst-affected provinces in three months.
On May 7, Mr Srettha told the cabinet of his goal of eliminating illegal drugs in the provinces when he declared that drug eradication is a national priority.
He set a three-month deadline for state agencies to tackle the problem.
In response to Mr Srettha's drug suppression initiative, the Bangkok Post spoke to NSB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Khirisak Tantinvachai about what the bureau plans to do.
"I'm confident the NSB will be able to accomplish the prime minister's goal by the deadline," he said.
"I believe in the possibility of the plan, with impressive results expected every 90 days."
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said such a policy and deadline is nothing new for NSB officers, who are constantly cracking down on drug dealers.
He said the Narcotics Act of Dec 8, 2021, divided narcotic substances into types and prioritised both rehabilitation and legal processes, which followed guidelines set by the United Nations.
"Setting a deadline and proactively working on drug suppression helps dealing with the problem more than a yearly assessment," he said.
"An assessment conducted in every quarter helps lower the chance of narcotic drugs spreading in the country.''
Substance Control
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said the NSB has many ideas on which it can draw. One is to control reactant substances, including benzyl cyanide, sodium cyanide, sulphuric acid, aniline, acetonitrile, methanol, chloroform, and toluene.
He said these substances were more likely to be imported by logistics vessels departing from Asian countries directly.
To escape the authorities' notice, such vessels are likely to be registered with a non-existent factory in Yangon or suchlike.
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said those substances, if they have not been seized, are likely to enter drug production chains along the northern and western borders of the country.
Most drug production chains consist of workers of ethnic groups from Myanmar who have turned to such activities as they need funds to support the country's internal conflict, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak gave an example of NSB officers who seized more than 90 tonnes of reactant substances at Laem Chabang pier in Chon Buri on June 7.
The vessel was said to have departed from Busan in South Korea on May 29 and had cargo heading for a non-existent factory in Myanmar.
He said that was a big enough haul to produce at least 270 million methamphetamine pills if the vessel had made it to its destination. The reactant substances could have also been used for crystal meth, known as ya ice, and cocaine.
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said the authorities seized 720 million methamphetamine pills last year and 800 million pills in the first three quarters of this year.
The key to the NSB's success is to arrest small dealers whose capture often enables officers to expand their investigation to hit at least 80% of the major networks which have at least 500,000 methamphetamine pills in stock and 48% of smaller-seized networks with 100,000–500,000 pills in stock.
The tactic has also led to raids on 10% of drug networks at the community level, said Pol Lt Gen Khirisak.
Downtown menace
Even though most narcotic drugs are more likely to be manufactured on the border, Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said the biggest concern is the spread of drugs in downtown areas.
He said some dealers receive their goods directly at the production base before transporting them to city and urban areas.
"Dealers also have a strategy to keep transporting drugs, so we are now focused on preventing the drugs from entering city and urban areas," said Pol Lt Gen Khirisak.
Soldiers are responsible for drug suppression at the border, while the police, especially the NSB, are assigned to suppress the drug trade in city and urban areas.
High-risk provinces
He said the government and agencies in the state sector have been working to tackle the problems in targeted areas since last October.
Those were 25 high-risk provinces, such as Bangkok, Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Surat Thani.
There are five provinces in the deep South that are also considered high-risk, namely Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, Satun, and Songkhla, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said Pol Gen Kraiboon Suadsong, a police inspector-general, led a pilot programme in Roi Et and Nan, provinces with high rates of narcotic drug usage.
Pol Lt Gen Khirisak said that more officers and a bigger budget are crucial for the project to succeed.
