7.2m tablets found missing in Udon Thani

The move follows the discovery of 7.2 million cold tablets having gone missing from the hospital since 2010, while hospital pharmacist Somchai Saekhow, 41 – who is on the run and reportedly in Laos – remains elusive. The case has been taken over by the Department Special Investigation (DSI). 

Meanwhile, Sanchai said he had instructed all community hospitals to reclaim pseudoephedrinebased cold medicines from healthcare units at the tambon level. 

In Chiang Mai’s Muang district, two pharmacy salespersons were arrested for allegedly stealing more than 300,000 tablets from Central Memorial Hospital. The suspects maintain their innocence. 

Following the recent arrest of a Central Memorial Hospital official, Phitsinee Prasertsri, for allegedly stealing 5,000 pseudoephedrine tablets and forging purchase orders for another 370,000 tablets, the Region 5 Provincial Police announced the arrests of pharmacy salespersons Suparada Thongthiang and Mayuree Luangkreung. They are accused of knowing about Phitsinee’s forgery and hence face charges of selling a “Psychotropic Substance Schedule 2” without permission as well as conspiring to forge documents. 

However, the two suspects insist that they had sold the medicines to Phitsinee legally and that they had no knowledge about the crime or the forgery. Police have said that they will continue arresting other suspects in relation to this case and have the DSI take it up as well. Police officials are also investigating to see if this case is linked to the dumping of empty cold pill packages in Chiang Mai’s San Kamphaeng district and if any drugtrafficking gangs were involved. 

An informed source said that police had received an intelligence report that a closeaide of an influential figure in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district had taken the medicines and removed them from their packages before sending the tablets across the border to a narcoticsmaking factory in a neighbouring country. 

As part of the ongoing investigation into coldtablet supplies missing from hospitals, Public Health Ministry’s deputy permanentsecretary Dr Sopon Mekthon yesterday told DSI investigators about the system used to control hospitals’ prescriptions and the officials involved. 

Sopon said the ministry had found suspicious activity in eight staterun hospitals and that disciplinary probes were ongoing, while some officials had been transferred to inactive posts. The investigation, which so far has not found any highranking officials being involved, should be completed within the legal frame of six months. 

DSI Bureau of Security Crime 3 director, Pol LtColonel Saard Sunthorn, said the DSI would summon 11 hospital directors and clinic owners to testify today and tomorrow. A DSI source said the department was ready to detain hospital medicine dispensing officials in order to get information leading to bigger fish.