Bangkok Post News (27-10-98)

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THE BANGKOK POST: SOLDIERS AND POLICE LINKED TO DRUGS BOSS
27 October, 1998 

RANGOON ASKED TO HELP IN SEARCH FOR FUGITIVE

About 20 military and police officers and civil servants have been linked
to the amphetamine syndicate run by Surachai "Bang Ron" Ngernthongfoo.

Two police officers from Thong Pha Phum, Kanchanaburi, have so far been
arrested, and one of them implicated two other colleagues.

A list of suspects was yesterday handed over to Pol Gen Pornsak
Durongkhavibul, the deputy commissioner-general, by the Office of the
Narcotics Control Board.

While declining to name the suspects, Pol  Gen Pornsak said he had ordered
his men to summon them for questioning and had asked Gen Mongkol
Ampornpisit, the supreme commander, to deal with the military suspects.

According to press reports, one of the officers linked to the fugitive Bang
Ron was a general.

As efforts continue to stem the flow of drugs, Gen Chettha Thanajaro said
Rangoon had pledged to help find Bang Ron, suspected to have fled to Burma.

The former army chief and adviser to the interior minister said Burmese
leaders had positively responded to his request to help trace the fugitive.

Photos of Bang Ron had been given to Burma's military attache and would be
distributed to military units along the border, he said.

Police have posted a reward of 200,000 baht for information leading to the
capture of Bang Ron despite assurances from his relatives that he would
turn himself in.

A military source in Kanchanaburi claimed a man suspected to be Bang Ron
had been under surveillance for a week.

The suspect was staying on Khi Deng Seng islet, near the Burmese border,
and a speedboat and four long-tail boats were sighted near a house there.

The source said the islet was near territory controlled by an anti-Burmese
rebel force suspected to be involved in the drugs trade.

Bang Ron, who owns a resort home in Thong Pha Phum, is believed to have
developed a close relationship with the rebels.

Kukiat Sunthornburana, the criminal court chief justice, said assets held
by Bang Ron would be seized if the Narcotics Control Board made a request.

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