NARATHIWAT – Syabu and methamphetamine, or yaba pills are the most common types of drugs smuggled to Malaysia through illegal bases along the Thailand-Malaysia border.
Narathiwat police chief Anuruth Imarb said that the drugs are brought in from northern Thailand in the Golden Triangle – near the Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar border – by drug trafficking syndicates before reaching the southern border.
He said the Thai government is very concerned about the situation because Narathiwat is prone to drug trafficking, especially to Malaysia due to its proximity to Kelantan.
“The biggest seizure was made in Sg Golok on July 2, 2020, and August 10 last year involving 2,000kg of drugs worth 200 million baht (approximately RM20 million).
“Investigations found that most of the traffickers started as addicts and their leader is from Songkhla,” he told a press conference at his office at the Narathiwat police headquarters here yesterday.
Anuruth said that these drug trafficking syndicates have also been found to hire certain groups to sow unrest by targeting security forces and public areas. – Bernama, May 7, 2023
