Traffickers look to new routes
Illegal drug smuggling along the Mekong River is growing rapidly with "mules" wearing special shoes and swimmers who carry guns and bombs.
Along the natural border between Thailand and Laos the US Drug Enforcement Administration is now engaged on a new battlefront to stem the flow of illegal substances.
The US DEA has been working in Thailand for years to counter the upsurge in drugs _ especially methamphetamine, ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cannabis _ smuggled into America from certain Asian nations through Thailand, concentrating mainly along the Burmese border and the Golden Triangle.
"These days, ya ba [methamphetamine] has become a growing problem in the US ... and it is best to tackle the drug problem at its origin,"said Sombat Chao, a US DEA special agent.
The tough crackdown on drug trafficking along the Thai-Burmese border has forced the traffickers to find alternative routes along the Thai-Lao border, said Pol Col Thanachai Phianchang, chief of Sub-Division 10 of the Marine Police Division, who oversees drugs suppression along the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom, Ubon Ratchathani, Amnat Charoen and Mukdahan provinces.
The drugs are smuggled into Laos first and then spirited across the Mekong River into Thailand, said Pol Col Thanachai who is responsible for tackling the drug smuggling problem along the Thai-Lao border from Mukdahan down to Ubon Ratchathani.
The frequency of drug smuggling from Laos into Thailand is growing quickly. The most common form of smuggling tactics is to put methamphetamine tablets in a pair of shoes modified to hide the drug.
As many as between 1,000 and 2,000 tablets of ya ba can be stuffed in one pair of shoes.
Another drug smuggling tactic is to swim across the river and drop the drugs on the Thai bank.
This tactic is far more difficult to detect and intercept as the traffickers chose isolated wooded areas to drop off the drugs where other traffickers collect them.
The Lao traffickers are very experienced at swimming across the fast-running river, said Pol Col Thanachai, adding that traffickers usually use a plastic oil container to help keep them afloat.
They normally work in teams of at least five members who each get about 5,000 baht to traffic drugs, he said.
Khemarat district of Ubon Ratchathani is seen as a "red zone" for drug trafficking from Laos. This district is opposite Songkhone district of Savannakhet province in Laos.
Ban Tha Prachum, a Lao village in Songkhone district, directly opposite Khemarat district, has become one of the largest spots for the storing of drugs waiting to be trafficked into Thailand, said Pol Col Thanachai.
Pol Lt Col Sanya Phumphothong, head of the 4th marine police checkpoint of Division 10 in Khemarat district, said the fight against drug trafficking there goes on around the clock.
By day, police officers are stationed at the border pass to search travellers upon their arrival for drugs that may have been hidden somewhere in their bodies or luggage.
By night, the marine police are also responsible for intercepting drug traffickers who swim across the river _ a much more difficult task that cannot be accomplished without accurate information from informants.
Equipped with night vision telescopes, the marine police wait in hiding to grab anyone they see swimming across the river.
It's a difficult and dangerous task as these traffickers would rather die than be arrested.
"They no longer carry only a gun but also a bomb. They are well aware that they face the death sentence if arrested, so they may think they have nothing to lose by clashing with the Thai authorities," said Pol Lt Col Sanya.
