Thai government's drug-battle efforts hailed successful

BANGKOK, September 12 (TNA) - The Thai government’s campaign against the drug problem nationwide over the past year, from September 11, 2011 to September 8, 2012, has been declared successful. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung , who has been tasked with the Thai government’s anti drug campaign, proclaimed on Wednesday that the official campaign, jointly worked with the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has yielded a success, with a significant increase in members of drug rings arrested, drugs seized, and drug addicts rehabilitated. Police Captain Chalerm told reporters that the Thai government’s war on drugs has, thus, been raised to regional agenda, from its national level earlier, with expanded cooperation sought from regional mechanisms. According to the Thai deputy premier, cooperation with China and other neighboring countries has led to the arrest of major drug gangs. However, there are some 500 million amphetamine pills remained in stocks of regional drug rings, which need to be seized before being smuggled into the Thai North. ONCB Secretary General Police General Adul Saengsingkaew, meanwhile, reported that 508,850 drug addicts nationwide have undergone rehabilitation over the past year, much higher than 400,000 earlier targeted, and that there have been some 95 per cent increase in drug suppression year-on-year from a total of 369,841 drug cases, with some 300,000 drug suspects having been arrested and 4,700 cases of seized drugs-related assets worth more than 1.6 billion baht. (TNA)