DRUG barons have slashed the price of methamphetamine pills to only 5 baht each after weakening the composition with this low-priced variety now available at three Northeastern border provinces, Naewna newspaper said this afternoon (June 20).
Col. Sivadol Yarklai, commander of Third Infantry Division and head of the drug suppression unit in the Northeastern border region, and Col. Kanyanat Chaiyaocha, deputy chief of this unit as well as Defence Ministry representatives said at a press briefing that these drug gangs slashed the price of meth pills after weakening them in order to increase sales and turn addicts into their slaves.
These cheap meth pills are available in Nakhon Phanom, Bueng Kan and Mukdahan provinces and addicts who previously could make do with one pill a day, now have to take five to eight of them to be satiated.
These drug gangs are also using agricultural drones to transport narcotics across the Mekong river with the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) serving a dual purpose of spying on officials.
Marijuana is also being smuggled across the border to Thailand with this mainly taking place in Ban Phaeng district, Nakhon Phanom province, and local residents are urged to help officials crackdown on smugglers.
Col. Sivadol added that Northeastern border provinces, including Nakhon Phanom, are now in a state of a drug war because drug gangs have started avoiding the North and shifted to this zone with this leading to multiple arrests.
Since the beginning of this year more than 8 million meth pills have been seized in Nakhon Phanom border areas with this being a three- to four-fold increase from last year. These drug gangs are also smuggling hundreds of thousands of meth pills in one go.
He added that even though marijuana is no longer on the narcotics list, those smuggling it across the Mekong river from Laos are immediately arrested.
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Col. Sivadol Yarklai with some meth pills, above, and holding a meeting with his team, Front Page. Photos: Naewna
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