The threat of illicit drugs trade in the deep South
By the New Desk
Besides armed insurgency which is killing and maiming both officials and civilians on almost daily basis in the restive deep South, drugs addiction and trafficking has become so widespread that it is posing a serious security and social threat.
Associate Professor Piya Kitthavorn, dean of the political science faculty of Prince of Songkhla university, Pattani campus, was once quoted as saying that the insurgency and the drugs scourge could cause local communities in the three southernmost provinces to collapse.
A report of the Internal Security Operations Command about the insurgency situation in the deep South which was submitted to the cabinet late last year concluded that the spread of drugs problem has exacerbated the insurgency problem to the extent that it has become very difficult to be resolved.
According to the report, that illicit drugs trade involves drug gangs from elsewhere and abroad which are capable of producing or smuggling the illicit drugs into the restive region. The drugs which are widely distributed and used include methamphetamine, crystal meth or ice, heroin and krathom (a kind of leaves which, when chewed, causes hallucination).
The report also says that the insurgents have resorted to illicit drugs to enlist new recruits among youths in the region. Profits from the illegal drug trade are known to have been channeled to support the insurgency cause.
According to the Isoc’s report, some local politicians and other influential figures have been fingerpointed of being involved in the drugs trade which is connected with drug trafficking gangs in the North and the Northeast. Some local officials have also been suspected of facilitating the movements of illicit drugs, making suppression even harder.
Two major drugs trafficking networks have been identified by the authorities. One is the network allegedly operated by Mayaki Yako which is based in Su-ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat and another allegedly run by Usman Salaemaeng, also based in Narathiwat.
A raid of a hideout of Mayaki three years ago led to the discovery of about 30 million baht in hard cash stuffed inside PVC pipes. Mayaki was later arrested by Malaysian police and extradited to Thailand. Usman, meanwhile, is still at large although police managed to seize about ten million baht in cash hidden in one of his vehicles.
Songkhla has been identified as a transit point where illicit drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine or ya ba, marijuana and crystal meth or ice from the North and the Northeast are temporarily stored before they are to be smuggled to the three southernmost provinces. Meanwhile, the so-called club drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine are smuggled in from Malaysia.
Krathom and cough syrup which are popular among Thai youths are also smuggled in from Malaysia and from Bangkok as well as other provinces.
The followings are statistics of drug seizures in seven southern provinces since 2005 which show a steadily increasing trend: 2,425 cases in 2005; 3,342 cases in 2006; 4,344 cases in 2007; 5,297 cases in 2008, 5,886 cases in 2009 and 2,172 cases for the first four months of this year.
The province which has the highest incidence of drugs seizures is Narathiwat with Su-ngai Kolok district registering the highest addiction rate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo by Abdullah Wangni