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Of 2,500 deaths in the government's war on drugs in 2003, a fact-finding panel has found that more than half was not involved in drug at all.

At a brainstorming session, a representative from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Tuesday disclosed that as many as 1,400 people were killed and labelled as drug suspects despite the fact that they had no link to drugs.

"The government drug policy was unclear. Operation staff thus did everything to achieve the goal of reducing the number of drug traffickers. The death toll was highest in February when the policy was first implemented. The number of deaths had lowered in the two following months," the representative said.

Held at the Chao Phya Park Hotel, the session attracted more than 50 judicial officials and academics.

The fact-finding panel worked under the government-appointed committee tasked with analysing the Thaksin Shinawatra-led government's drug policy and its implementation that caused damages to people's lives, property and reputation.

During the war on drug, police attributed many murder victims to silence killings by fellow drug traffickers. However, the families of the victims were demanding justice saying that the victims were not involved in drug trade.

Senior public prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed.

The Nation