ABOVE: Policemen from the Thai Marine Border Police patrol along the Mekong river aboard a machine-gun-mounted armored boat searching for the drug gangs that haunt this territory deep in the Golden Triangle, an age-old smuggling route. File photo: Christophe Archambault / AFP
A multinational interdiction effort to stem to flow of drugs by interrupting supply lines across the Mekong river is being hailed as a success and will likely be expanded.
Since mid-January, Thailand has participated in the Safe Mekong operation along with Myanmar, China and Laos which has resulted in the seizure of tons of drugs and chemical precursors as well as the more than 1,000 arrests.
In a report on the operation’s first month, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board said 1,289 suspects have been arrested. Authorities have seized nearly 10 million amphetamine tablets, 440 kilograms of amphetamine crystal, 180 kilograms of heroin, 59 kilograms of opium, 20,000 kilograms of methylene chloride and 293 kilograms of pseudoephedrine, according to the report, which also lists “8,150 kilograms of caffeine” among the contraband.
The board’s report cited the operation’s results in recommending it be extended through the end of 2015.
Operationally, the campaign includes joint patrols, searches and checkpoints along the river, as well as searching ports and inspecting chemical exports.
