TALKS IN LUANG PRABANG ON DRUGS CONTROL

Measures to eliminate trafficking and production of illegal drugs
along the border will be the focus of a meeting today in the Lao city
of Luang Prabang, a senior Thai drug official said.

Chartchai Sutikorm, deputy secretary of the Narcotics Control Board,
said the meeting was an opportunity to exchange information.

"Measures on how to deal with the new drug situation and efficiently
unite in a common front against drugs will also be raised," he said.

The meeting will be jointly chaired by Thammarak Issarangkura na
Ayutthaya, PM's Office minister in charge of drug suppression, and
Soubanh Srithirath, who supervises the Lao commission for drug
control. Joint border patrols may also be agreed on.

Many drug production plants are reported to have shifted from the
Burmese border area to the Lao border as a result of heavy suppression
by the Third Army in the North.