Anti-drug authorities have arrested 1,607 drug suspects in six northern provinces this year and have pledged to step up efforts to bring more to justice in the 2025 fiscal year starting next month.
The six northern provinces are Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Phayao, Nan and Tak.
It is estimated that there are tens of millions of meth pills and hundreds of kilos of crystal meth stored near the Thai border in the North, waiting to be distributed to users in the central and southern regions, as well as Malaysia.
Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) secretary-general Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lukboon and Pol Gen Narit Thawornwong, commander of the Taskforce 35 northern drug suppression unit, yesterday held a press conference to reveal the results of crackdowns in the borderland areas of the northern region launched over the past 10 months.
A meeting was also held to review the work done by several military and police agencies against the drug problem and plan for next year's campaigns.
It was also revealed that the authorities will increase efforts to crack down on drugs in the 2025 fiscal year in a bid to fulfil the government's pledge to minimise the impacts drugs have on Thai society.
Pol Gen Narit said it is thought that there are at least 80 million meth pills and 1,000 kilogrammes of crystal meth being kept in warehouses just over the country's northern border.
According to him, these narcotics are owned by two groups of drug networks in Thailand. The first includes networks that smuggle drugs into the country's southern region and Malaysia. The other consists of those that ship them to the central and eastern regions.
The commander added that the targeted market for meth pills is mainly Thai people, while crystal meth, ketamine and heroin are aimed at foreign drug users.
Pol Gen Narit also said that Taskforce 35 was involved in 44 anti-drug operations, arresting 1,607 suspects. It also seized 256 million meth pills, 2.68 tonnes of crystal meth, 375 kilogrammes of heroin, 206 kilogrammes of raw opium and 21 kilogrammes of ketamine in 18 districts in the six northern provinces between Dec 1 last year and Sep 8.
He added that 31 suspects, who were mostly based in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai and Fang districts and Chiang Rai's Mae Sai and Mae Fa Luang districts, were killed by officers.