THE NATION: Thailand 'may become

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Politics 

      Thailand 'may become
      amphetamine-supplier'

      THAILAND could become a major international supplier of
      amphetamine as Thai drug cartels have struck up an
      alliance with their Lao and Burmese counterparts to
      produce the illicit stimulant in neighbouring countries,
      according to a drug expert. 

      Dr Vichai Poshyachinda, a drug expert and member of the
      Narcotics Control Board, said the shift in production base
      was aimed mainly to circumvent tougher control on
      chemical precursors, such as ephedrine, which is
      classified as a restrictively controlled substance in
      Thailand. 

      ''It becomes as clear as jigsaw pieces falling into place
      that Thai drug cartels are on their way to becoming major
      suppliers of amphetamine in the international market,''
      said Vichai. 

      The supply of amphetamine in Thailand was believed to
      be from foreign sources outside the Southeast Asian
      region until the first clandestine laboratory was found in a
      Bangkok suburb in 1986. Supplies of amphetamine have
      increased dramatically along with demand for the
      stimulant in recent years. 

      He cited Laos' recent anti-drug report which indicated that
      most of the cases of production of amphetamine in Laos
      involved importing substances for the purpose of
      immediate re-export either to circumvent import tax in the
      target countries or to divert the substances for illicit
      purposes. 

      In one of the major drug busts in recent years, Lao
      drug-enforcement officials in a northwestern province
      raided a clandestine amphetamine laboratory, arresting
      25 suspects, including seven Thais and 10 Burmese, and
      seized more than 20 tonnes of material and equipment,
      the report said. 

      Among the substances seized in the raid were various
      chemical precursors imported from a neighbouring
      country. Lao law-enforcement officials also seized 6.7
      tonnes of chemical precursors near the Mekong River not
      far from the laboratory. 

      The report was submitted to an international seminar on
      drug-abuse problems in Bangkok recently. 

      Another report made by the Burmese government said
      that although stimulant and hallucinogen abuse were not
      popular in Burma, law-enforcement officials had reported
      an increasing number of people arrested in connection
      with production and trafficking of amphetamine. 

      In 1996 law-enforcement officials made arrests in 13
      cases of amphetamine production and trafficking, seizing
      5.9 million tablets. Last year there were nine offences, with
      a seizure of more than 1.1 million tablets. 

      It was also known that ephedrine was being moved from
      China to Thailand through Burma's Shan State. 

      Vichai said the Golden Triangle, the major production
      area of opiates that straddles the Thai, Burmese and Lao
      borders, has now expanded its output to include large
      supplies of methamphetamine. 

      ''The involvement of a multinational network extending over
      the whole Far East in the illicit trade is also evident,''
      Vichai said. 

      Although the manufacture of illicit stimulants in the Asean
      countries is evidently confined to methamphetamine,
      abuse of illicit stimulants includes the Ecstasy group of
      amphetamine derivatives and cocaine, he said. 

      ''It is clear that the abuse of stimulants is fostered
      simultaneously by intra- and extra-regional supplies,''
      Vichai said. 

      BY THANA POOPAT 

      The Nation