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THE NATION: Thailand 'may become
- Subject: THE NATION: Thailand 'may become
- From: bll@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 18:43:00
Politics
Thailand 'may become
amphetamine-supplier'
THAILAND could become a major international supplier of
amphetamine as Thai drug cartels have struck up an
alliance with their Lao and Burmese counterparts to
produce the illicit stimulant in neighbouring countries,
according to a drug expert.
Dr Vichai Poshyachinda, a drug expert and member of the
Narcotics Control Board, said the shift in production base
was aimed mainly to circumvent tougher control on
chemical precursors, such as ephedrine, which is
classified as a restrictively controlled substance in
Thailand.
''It becomes as clear as jigsaw pieces falling into place
that Thai drug cartels are on their way to becoming major
suppliers of amphetamine in the international market,''
said Vichai.
The supply of amphetamine in Thailand was believed to
be from foreign sources outside the Southeast Asian
region until the first clandestine laboratory was found in a
Bangkok suburb in 1986. Supplies of amphetamine have
increased dramatically along with demand for the
stimulant in recent years.
He cited Laos' recent anti-drug report which indicated that
most of the cases of production of amphetamine in Laos
involved importing substances for the purpose of
immediate re-export either to circumvent import tax in the
target countries or to divert the substances for illicit
purposes.
In one of the major drug busts in recent years, Lao
drug-enforcement officials in a northwestern province
raided a clandestine amphetamine laboratory, arresting
25 suspects, including seven Thais and 10 Burmese, and
seized more than 20 tonnes of material and equipment,
the report said.
Among the substances seized in the raid were various
chemical precursors imported from a neighbouring
country. Lao law-enforcement officials also seized 6.7
tonnes of chemical precursors near the Mekong River not
far from the laboratory.
The report was submitted to an international seminar on
drug-abuse problems in Bangkok recently.
Another report made by the Burmese government said
that although stimulant and hallucinogen abuse were not
popular in Burma, law-enforcement officials had reported
an increasing number of people arrested in connection
with production and trafficking of amphetamine.
In 1996 law-enforcement officials made arrests in 13
cases of amphetamine production and trafficking, seizing
5.9 million tablets. Last year there were nine offences, with
a seizure of more than 1.1 million tablets.
It was also known that ephedrine was being moved from
China to Thailand through Burma's Shan State.
Vichai said the Golden Triangle, the major production
area of opiates that straddles the Thai, Burmese and Lao
borders, has now expanded its output to include large
supplies of methamphetamine.
''The involvement of a multinational network extending over
the whole Far East in the illicit trade is also evident,''
Vichai said.
Although the manufacture of illicit stimulants in the Asean
countries is evidently confined to methamphetamine,
abuse of illicit stimulants includes the Ecstasy group of
amphetamine derivatives and cocaine, he said.
''It is clear that the abuse of stimulants is fostered
simultaneously by intra- and extra-regional supplies,''
Vichai said.
BY THANA POOPAT
The Nation