ລາວໂຮມລາວ ເພື່ອປະຊາທິປະໄຕ

Fighting drug gangs in the notorious Golden Triangle

A Thai police gunboat prowls the waters of the Mekong River searching for the drug gangs that haunt this territory deep in the Golden Triangle, an age-old smuggling route -- with a new scourge.

At one time this frontier region, where the remote edges of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, was awash with heroin, flooding over the border from the then world's biggest opium producer Myanmar.

Times have changed and now the drug of choice is methamphetamine often in the form of "yaba" -- Thai for "crazy medicine" -- bound for the streets and clubs of Asia.

"It is very difficult to prevent drug trafficking into Thailand," said general Manop Senakun, commander of police in Chiang Saen, the Thai town at the gateway to the Golden Triangle.

It is estimated that at least 1.4 billion yaba tablets -- with an estimated street value of $8.5 billion -- are being produced each year in the region.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130718-fighting-drug-gangs-notorious-golden-triangle