Tonnes of seized drugs go up in smoke
Ayutthaya - The government burned about 3.5 tonnes of illegal drugs with an estimated street value of almost Bt11 billion on Monday.
Their destruction marked International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking.
Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat was on hand at the torching at the Bang Pain Industrial Estate. It was the 34th time the country had held an official destruction of drugs. Observers from Thai and international agencies and organisations were also present. In all, 3,510 kilograms and 91 litres of illegal drugs worth Bt10.95 billion were destroyed. They had been seized in 246,430 illegal narcotics cases. Making up 90 per cent of the drugs was 32 million methamphetamine tablets. Crime Suppression Police also produced 1,620 kilograms of marijuana for destruction. The drugs were burned using the environmentfriendly "pyrolytic" incineration technology. This burns drugs at 850 degrees Celsius which causes molecules to quickly turn into carbon and create no air pollution. Pinij said government efforts to curb drug trafficking along border areas had put a dent in imported narcotics. Burning the seized drugs ensured they would never find a way back on to the market.
|
