Tip of ‘ice’ berg: 5.4 tonnes of crystal meth seized in first half of year
Indicating the vast scale of Thailand’s drugs trade, the Defence Ministry says that during the first half of this year authorities seized over 200 million methamphetamine pills, more than 5 tonnes of crystal meth and 7 tonnes of marijuana.
Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit said police and military had coordinated with the Narcotics Control Board to intercept drug traffickers and take huge caches of their cargo.
From January to June, the authorities seized 205 million meth pills, 5,400 kilos of crystal meth or “ice”, 35 kilos of heroin, 7,000 kilos of marijuana as it was smuggled from neighbouring countries, the spokesman said.
Large seizures of kratom leaves, opium and cocaine were also made during the period.
The flow of crystal meth was mostly directed to the South then smuggled over the border to Malaysia, Kongcheep said.
Drug busts also netted 172,185 suspects during the first six months, 3,742 of them alleged to be drug makers.
Kongcheep said Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed security agencies to watch out for drug traffickers disguised as tourists and businessmen.
