Narcotics Control Board:

NEW DRUG-DEALING GANGS EMERGING

A new generation of drug traffickers is taking the place of the one wiped out in last year's anti-drugs war.

"The Narcotics Control Board is gathering evidence against a new generation of traffickers and will prosecute them in due course," the board's deputy secretary-general Chartchai Suthiklom said yesterday.

Chartchai said Klong Toei slum remained a popular area for drug transactions but many traffickers had moved to other crowded communities to avoid detection.

He also said distribution systems were getting more sophisticated.

"Traffickers are learning from experiences gained from the anti-drugs campaign.  They have devised new and complex ways to distribute drugs," Chartchai said.

Drug buyers and sellers meet in Klong Toei to make deals but arrange for the drugs to be delivered in other areas, such as the Rom Klao community, he said.

The anti-drugs campaign drastically reduced the amount of narcotics smuggled over the border but had not completely eradicated it, he said.

Drug shipments from the northern border have been re-routed through the Northeast to get to Bangkok.  Traffickers also rely on the Western border to smuggle drugs into the country.

A plunge in demand for methamphetamine following the crackdown also resulted in the wholesale price being cut from Bt20-25 a pill to Bt16 each, Chartchai said.

Only 30 per cent of the drugs seized in recent months were freshly produced while the rest came from stockpiles, he said.

He also warned addicts who had undergone rehabilitation that they would face stiffer penalties if they started using drugs again.