WARRANT POLICY SOFTENED

A law is needed if police powers to arrest suspects in drug conspiracies
are to be widened, says the Narcotics Control Board.

The change should not take the form of an amendment to the present law, in
which the ONCB must approve police requests for a warrant, it said.

The Narcotics Suppression Bureau's new head, Inthadej Pornpeeraphan, called
for wider police powers on Monday.

Kitti Limchaikij, the board's secretary-general, said a new law was the
easiest way of going about it.

"As I recall it, our law experts initially drafted the law, which came into
effect in 1991. The draft said nothing about the secretary- general's power
to sign warrants.

"It was added in later by former prime minister Anand Panyarachun's
National Legislative Assembly to balance the power of the police.

"The assembly was worried that police could go too far."

Pol Lt-Gen Inthadej said the ONCB secretary-general seemed reluctant to use
his authority to sign warrants. Only a few drug masterminds had been
arrested, he said.

Mr Kitti admitted that many police requests had been refused on grounds
there was insufficient evidence of a conspiracy. They were usually sent
back with a request for more evidence.

He was advised by a panel comprising law experts and prosecutors from the
Attorney General's Office.

As an interim solution, he would tell them to be more flexible.