The government’s urgent phase action plan to combat narcotics was unveiled this week by Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has made combating drugs a top priority.
Attendees for the event included representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Foreign Anti-Narcotics and Crime Community of Thailand (FANC).
At this event, the Prime Minister personally oversaw the distribution of cash bonuses to government employees who had a hand in big drug case asset seizures in 2022. About 8 million baht, or 30% of the value of the assets confiscated in four cases, was distributed to authorities involved in the investigations.
The drug problem is complex and affects national security, but the prime minister has also presented his plans for cracking down on drugs. Efforts at prevention, suppression, and rehabilitation, as well as international cooperation, are thus required to deal with this issue.
In order to better repress the drug trade and apprehend traffickers and dealers, the government has updated the appropriate regulations, resulting in the confiscation of narcotics with an estimated street value of 11.1 billion baht.
Meanwhile, Gen. Prayut called for schools to maintain a drug-free environment, for families to work together to combat drug abuse, and for addicts to receive treatment.
Security personnel will defend the borders from drug traffickers and seize their assets, while subdistrict-level teams would monitor neighborhoods for drug users.
The prime minister stressed the need of protecting informants and warned that agency officials would be held liable for narcotics charges committed by subordinates.
