ENORMOUS NUMBERS OF DRUG RELATED ARRESTS IN THE NORTH

July was a 'productive' month for the police, as 700 people allegedly
involved in drug trafficking in the eight northern provinces were arrested,
according to the Provincial Police Bureau Region 5. The two provinces that
yielded the most arrests were Chiang Rai (301) and Chiang Mai (192).

Of these, four were actual drug producers and 10 were simply 'mules' who
carried drugs into Thailand from other countries. In those figures there
were also 318 drug users and 161 others were caught in possession of drugs.

In July alone, police confiscated 312,994 ya ba pills and over 12,000 grams
of methamphetamines, heroin, opium and fresh and dried hashish.

The Provincial Police Bureau Region 5 confirmed that police will continue
to control all 101 checkpoints throughout the north to block drugs being
smuggled into Thailand.

Compared to the figures for July last year, the number of arrests increased
by over 50 percent. This either points to increased vigilance by the law
enforcement officers, or increased trafficking, or both.