New drug crackdown results in 4,784 arrests, 44m meth pill haul
A nationwide operation to ‘clip wings of drug pushers’ also resulted in the seizure of a cache of crystal meth, heroin and firearms, as well as the freezing of assets worth 579 million baht
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) announced the success of its nationwide operation last week targeting drug pushers, which resulted in 4,784 arrests and the seizure of more than 44 million methamphetamine pills.
RTP chief Pol General Kitrat Phanphet held a press conference on Monday to announce the results of the operation, dubbed “clipping wings of drug pushers”, that was launched nationwide last Tuesday.
The operation saw coordination between the Provincial Police Bureaus 1-9, the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Office of Narcotics Control Board and other government agencies. They jointly searched 3,146 sites, targeting 907 suspected drug trafficking rings.
Kitrat said the operation also led to the freezing of assets worth 579 million baht belonging to alleged drug traffickers. In addition to the drug-related arrests, 453 suspects wanted for other crimes were also apprehended.
Apart from the methamphetamine pills, authorities also seized 2,225 kilograms of crystal meth, 3.93kg of ketamine, 27.64kg of heroin, 1,222 ecstasy pills and 241 firearms.
Kitrat said the operation on Tuesday, which focused on cracking down on drug pushers in communities, was part of a larger effort in response to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s call on September 12 for urgent drug suppression tactics.
Between October and November, police arrested 281,491 drug suspects and seized 1.13 billion meth pills, 34.59 tonnes of crystal meth, almost two tonnes of heroin, 7.09kg of ketamine and 239,343 ecstasy pills. Some 12.64 billion baht worth of assets belonging to the drug suspects was also frozen, the police chief said.
