Laota Saenli, a close associate to Chang Chi-fu or Khun Sa, a late Burmese drug lord, has taunted the Thai government and Police Chief Police General Priewpan Damapong that there is no way the Thai authority will ever rid the country of narcotics. His words should be heeded with some reservation because he himself is a former drug suspect. Saenli, who has turned himself into a coffee plantation owner, has also disclosed that currently, there are three major drug cartels operating out of the Indochina region, which is known to be one of the largest narcotics production regions in the world.

Prior to this, there was a unsettling report that some drug cartels have joined hands with insurgent groups from southern Thailand, arm dealers along the border areas and other criminal organizations. On the other hand, Saenli's remark gives the authority a valuable insight on how to beat the drug trade. This actually gives us hopes that perhaps the drug cartels and the insurgents who rely on their financial support could all be wiped out at the same time.

Even if Saenli's comment holds any truth, it would be useless if the officials responsible just stand idly or neglected to act on it. In the past, the government has failed to take action on many issues despite having sufficient intelligence information and funding. The officials have often performed without any clear set of direction or objectives. More importantly, many of the country's problems nowadays have been tied to politics. Without political incentives to address them, some issues would simply continued to be swept under the proverbial rug.

Recently, the police drug raids are becoming a common sight. A massive quantity of narcotics has been seized. To some, this may seem like just a showy anti-narcotics stunt by the government aimed to win the public's approval. As long as the authority is still basking itself in the limelight for trivial drug busts instead of introducing more integrated anti-drug policy, the government will never truly triumph over the narcotics epidemic.

Failing to act on Saenli's words, the officials will not only lose an opportunity to utilize a valuable piece of information and waste resources needlessly, the drug dealers will also be amused by the government's futile anti-drug efforts.

Taken from Editorial Section, Kom Chad Leuk Newspaper, Page 4, March 29, 2012 Translated and Rewritten by Kongkrai Maksrivorawan

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

Originally posted here:
Thai-ASEAN News Network - Drug Cartels' Taunt