B14bn of narcotics to be torched on ‘anti-drugs day’
About 13.6 tonnes of narcotics with an estimated street value of 13.7 billion baht will be incinerated in Ayutthaya on June 25 to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
They will be destroyed at the Utility and Environment Management Centre of the Bangpa-in Industrial Estate in Bang Pa-in district, police said.
The event will be jointly organised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Royal Thai Police, Royal Thai Army and Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
The drugs include: 5.5 tonnes of methamphetamine pills, or ya ba, worth 12.2 billion baht; 486 kilogrammes of crystal meth worth 1.2 billion baht; 108kg of heroin (174 million baht); 122kg of opium (1.3 million baht); 10kg of ecstasy (34 million baht); 5kg of cocaine (16 million baht); and 7.3 tonnes of marijuana and kratom leaves (totaling 58 million baht), according to FDA secretary-general Dr Wanchai Sattayawuthipong.
They will be burned using a method known as pyrolytic incineration at temperatures of least 850 degrees, as this does not produce pollution because it eliminates all carcinogenic dioxins, Dr Wanchai said.
Meanwhile, anti-narcotics officials this week confiscated 9 million meth pills and 300kg of crystal meth worth a total of 18 million baht in Chiang Mai’s Chiang Dao district earlier this week. Six suspects were arrested, according to the police.
The narcotics were confiscated in the border area of Ban Pa Bong Ngam in tambon Mueang Na on Monday.
Police responded to evidence derived from catching drug-dealing suspect Panatkit Soponphumipanya in the same area just prior to the raid.
Authorities also confiscated 10 million baht of Mr Panakit’s assets. The seized narcotics were due to be transported to his customers in Ayutthaya, authorities said.
Mr Panatkit had been wanted by police since 2010 for allegedly supplying 158,000 meth pills to a big drug gang in Chon Buri’s Muang district in December of that year.
In the follow-up investigation, five people including a 17-year-old were arrested. They were identified as members of Mr Panatkit’s network.
Sirinya Sitdhichai, secretary-general of the ONCB, told the media the seized drugs were manufactured by two groups operating along the northern border.
He said authorities had solid evidence implicating Mr Panatkit as the supplier of the drugs for distribution in the central and southern provinces.
On Wednesday, police seized assets worth millions of baht belonging to the alleged financial manager of a major drug network based in Lop Buri province.