Thailand’s drug war: Views from the front lines

Lt-Gen Atitep says another reason for the rise in drug cases is simply because law enforcement has improved. He cited greater cooperation between the Royal Thai Army (RTA), the NSB and other parts of the RTP and other government organizations, leading to more seizures and arrests, especially during the past two years.
 
“We in Thailand cannot control the manufacturing of illicit drugs in neighboring countries. To try and keep them from being smuggled into Thailand we are closely cooperating with the RTA in many areas, like sharing intelligence and conducting joint operations.

“Almost all illicit drugs in Thailand come from outside the country. If we could stop smuggling, the country would be largely drug-free. But during the past few years more drugs are being smuggled, for three main reasons:

“One, as I have said, we have no control over the manufacture of drugs outside Thailand, and the manufacturers can produce practically any amount they wish. For example, if today we seize one million ya ba pills, tomorrow they can make two million.

“Secondly, in the past heroin was the major problem. Growing opium depends on the climate and other conditions. If the weather is bad, the harvest is small.

“Nowadays chemicals are the basic ingredients for manufacturers. With enough supply of these chemicals, they can produce synthetic drugs like ya ba or “ice” (crystal methamphetamine) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
 
“Thirdly, and this is very important, various armed groups who are fighting the Myanmar government need money to buy weapons, ammunition and other items. These groups are producing a large quantity of drugs at this moment.
 
“In fact, it is like in Mexico, where the drug cartels who have lots of money can buy not only weapons but armored vehicles to fight the government, and even a submarine,” says Lt-Gen Atitep.
 
It has been widely reported that anti-government armed groups in Myanmar have been dealing drugs for years. One of the biggest is evidently based just across the northern Thai border.

In an interview with the commander of the group a few years ago in northern Thailand, I asked whether his army was involved in the drug business. His answer? “One opium poppy is worth five US dollars. Are you going to burn a five-dollar bill?”
  
The commander was accompanied by a close Shan confidant, who was later on arrested by the Thai police in Chiang Mai in connection with the seizure of a large quantity of heroin.

Lt-Gen Atitep says the increase in the supply of illicit drugs in Thailand has led to a corresponding increase in addiction. He adds that since 2003 the number of addicts has risen at a significant rate.

“There’s a big demand for drugs, so everyone involved at every level, from the manufacturers and smugglers to suppliers and pushers, is working harder and making a lot of money in the process.

“In 2003 there were close to 500,000 addicts, but now there are almost one
million. I recently saw a very disturbing report in a Thai newspaper, with data supplied by Thanyarak Hospital in Pathum Thani, which treats and rehabilitates drug addicts.

“Before, most addicts coming for treatment were 18 years and older, but now the average is 14 to 17, with some as young as seven.

“I think the reason why more youngsters are taking drugs and becoming addicted is a lack of education. They have social problems and they are unhappy. By taking a drug they will feel happy for a while. I must stress that we as police can’t do very much about these factors.

“About three years ago ‘ice’ became very popular with Thai drug addicts. In the past most amphetamine addicts took ya ba pills. The sellers gave them a small complimentary taste of ice, for free. It was like a marketing strategy. That’s when ice became popular.

“Also, and this is very important, in the past ya ba was mostly taken by laborers to work longer and harder so they could earn more money. But these days, with ice, the purpose of taking the drug is for entertainment. In the past addicts usually consumed ya ba individually, but now they will buy a gram of ice and share it – have a party.

“There has been an increase in the smuggling of not just ice, but also cocaine. Heroin is holding steady because it is smuggled to other countries from Thailand. But here, most of the problem is with ya ba.

“As for foreigners involved in drug smuggling, the biggest problem is with nationals of Israel, Iran and Pakistan. The West Africans continue in the drug trade as well. Thailand has liberal requirements to enter the country. Our government wants tourist revenue.

“Tourists can be divided into three categories,” reckons Lt-Gen Atitep. “The first is people who come here to see the country. They want to see the ancient sites and have a good time on the beach. The second group is here for legitimate commercial purposes. The third are the criminal tourists. Many foreign criminals also come here to live because the cost of living is cheaper than, for example, in England. They can live here well on 1,000 pounds a month.

“In the past, the smugglers usually concealed narcotics in luggage, but right now – and this applies especially to the Iranians – they use many sophisticated methods.

“The latest trend to smuggle ice is to soak clothes in it. After the clothes are dry, they’re packed in luggage. Many smugglers soak ice into jeans. When they arrive at their destination, they will retrieve it from the articles of clothing. Smugglers also put ice in bottles with other liquids.

“Just a few days ago, we discovered a new method of smuggling ice when we arrested a foreigner who had concealed the drug inside a hair band.

“Actually, there is no lasting solution to drug trafficking because the people involved are constantly changing and improving their methods.

“To summarize, there are three main reasons why the statistics are up: The production and the supply are increasing; the smugglers are employing new methods to bring in the drugs; and the number of addicts is increasing every year.

“The NSB is now concentrating on the drug problem in the jails. We are in contact with the Director-General of the Corrections Department. Right now, according to the suspects we arrest, about 70 percent have links to prisoners now in jail. However, this cannot be absolutely verified.

“Suspects tell us they are involved with someone in jail, but perhaps they are trying to shift blame. In some cases, however, we are able to verify the involvement of prisoners and then, strange as it may sound, we issue arrest warrants for the prisoners.

“If you want to know how the prisoners can organize the drug business from inside the jails, I can’t tell you because I don’t know.

“What I do know is that we have to put more emphasis on prevention than suppression. Any country that focuses only on suppression won’t succeed. Like in Mexico, about 20,000 people have died due to the drug war but the drug business continues unabated.

“In 2010 we arrested twice as many people as in 2009. We are successful in our work, which is suppression, but we cannot help in reducing addiction.

“The NSB must work much harder than before because of the increase in smuggling and addiction. Among other duties and responsibilities, we are checking discotheques and other entertainment places frequented by young people. This includes internet cafes, where drugs are now sold.”

Lt-Gen Atitep says that Klong Toey remains a major point of drug sales.
Arresting the kingpins is not easy because they don’t touch the drugs; they only organize the business.
   “We are using various means to arrest them. For example, they can be charged with money laundering and their assets confiscated. But the criminals will never stop. They are trying to protect themselves by transferring assets to other people.”





Police Colonel Chatchai: Drug trade is too easy

POLICE Colonel Chatchai Sirisabphya, who is attached to the NSB headquarters in Bangkok, is responsible for overseeing
suppression efforts at the more than 2,000 communities in Bangkok. At least 600 are known to be venues for selling drugs.

Commenting on the increase in drug cases and arrests, he says: “There could be many explanations, not only that more drugs are coming here. We now have more policemen on the job than in previous years. We have tried to arrest more people during the past two years. We have persuaded people to help us and this might also be reflected in the statistics. During the past three months, the Metropolitan Police recorded around 40,000 cases.”

Keeping drugs off the streets requires constant attention by police and other law enforcement organizations, says Col Chatchai. He echoes the NSB commissioner’s remark that by far most of the drugs in Thailand are smuggled into the country. However, his men have uncovered a disturbing trend.

“We should analyze why in the past three years we have seized 11 machines to produce ya ba pills near Bangkok, including in Pathum Thani, Kanchanaburi and Chonburi provinces. I just spoke about this with officers attached to the ONCB.

“In fact, to produce ya ba is not so difficult. You can find the recipes easily. Maybe instead of smuggling it via neighboring countries, dealers can produce it easier here. The drug can be produced anywhere, in any building.

“Selling the drugs is also very easy. In recent years we have arrested many people who are now staying together in the prisons.
They include the drug suppliers, the couriers and the buyers, all in the same jail. So they can organize the business through phone calls to the outside.

They can coordinate delivery of the drug to any part of Thailand.

“The suppliers might be from the north, the couriers from Bangkok and the buyers maybe from the south or wherever. They use mobile phones and the internet. And they use codes so we can’t monitor what they’re saying.

 “This year, we have already seized around 50 to 60 million ya ba pills.
 
Now, with maybe one million addicts in Thailand, if each consumes two ya ba pills per day, multiplied by 365 days, that’s 730 million pills. If each costs a minimum of 150 baht, the total is worth of billions of baht per year.

“The price for ya ba is now going down and it is easy to buy. In 2001 and 2002 the price for one pill was 30 or 50 baht. It went up to over 300 baht in 2008, but since then it has been going back down.

Drugs like heroin are in less demand in Thailand now, with cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and ya ba the most popular. They all come here from abroad.

The colonel said that many high-society people consume expensive drugs like ecstasy, cocaine or ice, while low-income people use the cheaper ya ba pills, marijuana or kratom which is everywhere.

Ya ba continues to be produced and smuggled from a neighboring country, despite many seizures. The cocaine problem originates from Thais who went to the US or Europe and became addicts. When they returned, they started looking for it.

“As for heroin, which was very popular in the past, consumption is now down because it is expensive for Thai addicts. This drug is now mostly smuggled out of Thailand.