Mekong drug crackdown yields results, officials say

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Posted by AI on 2025-09-09 08:40:31 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 14:20:21

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Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and China have agreed to tackle drug trafficking with surprising success, officials say. Following a multinational operation along the Mekong River, officials from the four nations plan to extend their efforts until the end of the year.

Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya is happy with the results and will expand the cooperation zone to adjacent land areas from March. In January, the four countries deployed patrol boats and joined forces to intercept drug trafficking along the Mekong River. The operation, run by the Safe Mekong Coordination Centre, resulted in the arrest of 1,289 individuals in 1,117 cases. Authorities also seized 9.4 million methamphetamine pills, about three tonnes of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice), 180 kilogrammes of heroin, and 59 kilogrammes of opium, along with 20,000 kilogrammes of methylene chloride, 8,150 kilogrammes of caffeine, and 293 kilogrammes of pseudoephedrine.

The Safe Mekong Coordination Centre (SMCC) was created in Chiang Mai after the four countries agreed to crackdown on narcotics smugglers and collaborate on river and land patrols, information sharing, identifying targets and raids, and blocking the flow of precursors.

The cooperation has been successful, according to Permphong Chavalit of the Narcotics Control Board, with no big consignments of drugs seized along the river since the initiative began. Officials will meet next month to review their performance and discuss extending operations until the end of the year.

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