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Drug use eclipses Full Moon party (Narcotics (use had been reported at Koh…
Drug use eclipses Full Moon party
The latest Full Moon party at Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan
The inspection of Koh Phangan was a final trip
for Mr Sirinya
who retired Sunday.
accompanied with Niyom Toemsisuk
the new chief of the ONCB
The famous moon festival
did not only draw Thai and foreign revellers.
late last month
did not only
draw Thai
foreign revellers.
also drew authorities
who went there for a not-so-merry objective -- to crack down on drugs.
Narcotics
use had been reported at Koh Phangan
for many years
officials did not focus their efforts on the island, partly
because
the drugs were mainly used by tourists during parties.
However
the Office of the Narcotics Control Board
or ONCB
decided to turn its attention to the spot
where news of drug use is threatening to tarnish
the image of the resort island
just off the Surat Thani coastline.
Koh Phangan
is not the only target
of the ONCB's latest drug crackdown.
They are also cracking down on drugs at other tourist destinations
in the province – namely
Koh Samui
Koh Tao.
Sirinya Sitdhichai
the outgoing secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board
as he led hundreds of officers to Phangan early last week
said
They all must be placed under a microscopic watch. The province's drug problem has been hard to deal with,"
In fact
the two are linked
which shows the drugs problem on the islands
is not confined to tourists at all.
In addition
As a result
Mr Sirinya decided
to focus on three main islands in particular.
addition
to news of drug parties among foreign tourists
the police have learnt that the province has been used as a transit point for drug smuggling
to neighbouring countries.
Malaysia in particular.
Around 70-80% of the drugs
smuggled in the South
are transported overseas.
Surat Thani
based
Don Sak
police chief Sutthi Nitiakkharanon
welcomed
the ONCB's move to intensify drug searches
at two major ports
at two major ports
Racha
Sea Tran
where ferries take travellers to Koh Samui.
Ice
is usually priced
at 1,000 baht per gramme
at 1,000 baht per gramme
in Surat Thani
but the same amount of drug is priced between
2,000-3,000 baht
on Koh Phangan.
Pol Col Sutthi said.
Just scanning travellers and their belongings before they go to the islands is no longer enough. We decided to do a double check on trips to and from the Full Moon party to mainland Surat Thani,"
So far in this year alone
police have found 1,000 suspects guilty of drug offences
and sent many of them to prison.