Within its four-year term, the administration has committed to make measures to eradicate narcotic substances, particularly methamphetamine, as a new national priority.
The public has been invited to participate in the fight to suppress drugs, and the government will also commit to the short-term goal of containing narcotics as much as possible in the first year.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addressed a meeting of the government committee for drug suppression yesterday and stated that the government wanted to break the cycle of the narcotics drug problem, from smuggling to drug addiction and money laundering.
The prime minister is in charge of the group, which also includes the head of the Narcotics Control Board and the national police chief.
“The need to tackle the drugs problem is high on the agenda, and has been agreed upon by the 11 coalition parties as well as all other parties in the opposition,” he said.
Suppression of drug smuggling is currently a top goal since it is thought to be a crucial step in preventing drugs from entering communities. It would also be necessary to reduce the amount of time that passes between when drugs are recovered in a crackdown and when they are destroyed, he said.
According to Mr. Srettha, it is crucial to expedite the process of seizing drug dealers’ assets in order to isolate them from these resources and their network. Let’s launch a new campaign today to eradicate drug problems from society, he said.
Since asset confiscation is drug dealers’ greatest nightmare, state agencies involved are now being urged to expedite asset seizure procedures in each and every drug case.
In order to provide state agencies and the general public the confidence to join the fight against drugs, Mr. Srettha promised to monitor the work’s progress and ensure that good governance principles are followed. Within a year, the issue must be resolved, and methamphetamines must be eradicated within the four years of this administration, he emphasized.
After the meeting, Mr. Srettha observed the combustion of drugs recovered in more than 100 recent drug cases at an Akkhie Prakarn Plc-owned incineration facility in the Muang area of Samut Prakan.
The drugs comprised 25.51 tonnes of additional narcotics in addition to 12.52 tonnes of methamphetamine, 11.65 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine, 418 kilograms of heroin, 179 kilograms of opium, and 704 kilograms of ketamine.
They were burned at 800-1,200 degrees Celsius in an incinerator powered by natural gas and outfitted with pollution-reduction tools.
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board’s (ONCB) secretary-general, Wichai Chaimongkhon, claimed that the destruction of drugs collected during crackdowns can now be carried out considerably more quickly than in the past, when it was necessary to wait until legal proceedings were finished, which might take up to 10 years.
Recent changes to the law governing the destruction of substances obtained in a drug case sooner have reduced the ONCB’s workload in handling narcotics that were ready for destruction.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ministry will speed up the suppression of drug smuggling and trading at the provincial level and report directly to the PM in response to the prime minister’s direction to make the drug war a national agenda item.
Regarding the deadline, Mr. Anutin stated that it is impossible to predict with certainty when this issue would be resolved. Setting a rigid deadline can lead to problems, he warned.
According to Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Cross Cultural Foundation and a human rights advocate, reminds her of the many extrajudicial killings that occurred during the Thaksin Shinawatra administration’s war on drugs policy 20 years ago.
The Thaksin-initiated war on narcotics aroused outrage among rights groups because it was allegedly responsible for the deaths of more than 2,500 people.
I’m worried and afraid that history may repeat itself because of the government’s promise to destroy all narcotics, she remarked.
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