Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Thursday thanked Myanmar authorities for repatriating Thawatchai Aomchompoo, one of Thailand's most-wanted drug suspects.
He expressed the country's gratitude at the 23rd meeting of the Thailand-Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation of Drug Prevention and Suppression in Bangkok.
Mr Thawatchai was brought home under the "Most Wanted" scheme, in which officials who manage to apprehend individuals believed to be part of an international drug trafficking ring are financially rewarded.
In his remarks, Mr Somsak emphasised the need for multilateral cooperation to end drug trafficking and bring those responsible to justice.
Also known as Bang Lai, Mr Thawatchai was handed over to Thai authorities on April 8.
He was found hiding in Tachileik, right across the border from Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai, where he ran a drug smuggling operation, according to the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB).
Wanted by police for his alleged role in at least two major trafficking cases, Mr Thawatchai faces a list of charges which includes conspiring to traffic narcotics and money laundering, NSB chief, Pol Lt Gen Sarayut Sanguanphokhai said.
At the meeting, officials from Thailand and Myanmar reviewed the situation in the notorious Golden Triangle region.
They also agreed to ramp up investigations into the smuggling of narcotics and their precursors in the region under Operation Golden Triangle 1511, as endorsed at the UN General Assembly Special Sessions in 2016.
The two countries believed drug smuggling will continue as long as drug networks have unrestricted access to their production sites.
Both nations also agreed to increase patrols along the border, as a deterrent to those smuggling drugs and their precursors, said Wichai Chaimongkhon, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, who also attended the meeting.
