Narcotics Control Board:

NEW DRUG-DEALING GANGS EMERGING

A new generation of drug traffickers is taking the place of the one
wiped out in last year's anti-drugs war.

"The Narcotics Control Board is gathering evidence against a new
generation of traffickers and will prosecute them in due course," the
board's deputy secretary-general Chartchai Suthiklom said yesterday.

Chartchai said Klong Toei slum remained a popular area for drug
transactions but many traffickers had moved to other crowded
communities to avoid detection.

He also said distribution systems were getting more
sophisticated.

"Traffickers are learning from experiences gained from the anti-drugs
campaign. They have devised new and complex ways to distribute drugs,"
Chartchai said.

Drug buyers and sellers meet in Klong Toei to make deals but arrange
for the drugs to be delivered in other areas, such as the Rom Klao
community, he said.

The anti-drugs campaign drastically reduced the amount of narcotics
smuggled over the border but had not completely eradicated it, he said.

Drug shipments from the northern border have been re-routed through
the Northeast to get to Bangkok. Traffickers also rely on the Western
border to smuggle drugs into the country.

A plunge in demand for methamphetamine following the crackdown also
resulted in the wholesale price being cut from Bt20-25 a pill to Bt16
each, Chartchai said.

Only 30 per cent of the drugs seized in recent months were freshly
produced while the rest came from stockpiles, he said.

He also warned addicts who had undergone rehabilitation that they
would face stiffer penalties if they started using drugs again.