DRUG LORDS 'WANT THAI PM DEAD'

Mr Thaksin Is Now Travelling in an Armoured Van

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said that drug barons who
have been targeted in a government crackdown are threatening his life.

Mr Thaksin told reporters that drug kingpins had put a bounty on his
head in retaliation for a war on drugs which has killed more than
1,000 people since it began on 1 February.

"Reports have come from our intelligence units that a group of
international mafia bosses want to kill me," Mr Thaksin said. "This is
not a mere threat, they are real," he added.

Mr Thaksin's administration has been accused by human rights groups of
pursuing a shoot to kill policy against perceived drug dealers.
Bangkok says that most of those who died were the victims of
inter-gang fighting, and 31 were shot by police in
self-defence.

Mr Thaksin said his personal security had been tightened. He said he
now travelled in an armoured van rather than his usual sedan, and that
sniffer dogs were scouring Government House.

He refused to confirm the price on his head, but Thai media quoted
security sources on Wednesday as saying that drug kingpins living
along the Thai-Burmese border had offered a bounty of 80m baht
($1.89m) to assassinate Mr Thaksin.

An official from the Office of Narcotics Control Bureau (ONCB) told
the French news agency AFP that drug lords from Burma's ethnic Wa
group, who are blamed for producing most of the methamphetamines that
flood Thailand, could be responsible.

"We believe the Wa are behind the reward because they are the group
which has been affected most from our war on drugs campaign," he told
the agency.

But Mr Thaksin said he was not afraid.

Drug war figures 1,498 dead, according to police Police say 31 shot in
self-defence 46,177 on interior ministry blacklist At least 700
government officials under investigation

"If someone calls and threatens me, I feel nothing... Dogs who bark
don't bite. The dog who bites will not bark," the prime minister said.

The boosted security follows the fatal shooting at the weekend of an
aide to Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, who is overseeing
Thailand's drugs war.

Thailand is the world's largest consumer of methamphetamines - a
powerful and addictive stimulant known locally as "ya-ba".

About 5% of the population regularly abuse the drug, according to the
International Narcotics Control Board.