Troops sent to destroy opium fields

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

                                       November 17, 1998 
                       DRUGS 

 Troops sent to
 destroy opium fields

 Smaller but potent harvest expected 

 Subin Khernkaew

 Troops and Border Patrol Police have been sent to destroy opium
 plants in mountainous areas of the Golden Triangle before the harvest.

 The target is to destroy up to 60 percent of plants cultivated on
 10,000 rai of Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Chiang Rai and
 Phayao, said Lt-Gen Sommai Vichavorn, commander of the Third
 Army Region.

 Hilltribe people who grow the poppies have introduced modern
 technology which allows for year-round cultivation and improved
 yield, he said.

 Destroying the crop was time-consuming and labour-intensive
 because the plants were being grown in small plots over a wide area.

 Drought and cold weather mean a smaller yield over the previous year
 but its quality, particularly of that produced here, would be far higher.

 According of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, the
 wholesale price of one joi (1.6kg) in the North had increased tenfold
 to 50,000 baht and the retail price to 120,000 baht.

 Raw opium here is considered of a better grade than that from Burma
 and Laos because it produces better quality heroin.

 Maj-Gen Sirichai Suwansiri, director of Northern Narcotic Prevention
 and Suppression Coordinating Centre, said there were 2,000 rai of
 poppy in Mae Hong Son, mostly in Pai district. So far, only 200 rai
 had been destroyed, he said.

 According to the United Nations, 2,000 tons of opium are produced
 in Burma each year, half for local consumption and 80-100 tons for
 heroin.

 Laos is reported to produce about 200 tons annually, mostly for local
 consumption among hilltribe people.

                                                       
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