Songkhla: Police conducted drug and firearm raids in over 600 locations in Thailand's southern provinces on Monday, arresting more than 200 suspects and confiscating property worth 17.4 million baht.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang, the assistant police chief and deputy director of the narcotics prevention and suppression centre, held a press briefing at Hat Yai Police Station in Songkhla to reveal the raids' results.
The press briefing was joined by Pol Maj Gen Nitinai Langyanai, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said that police raided 609 locations targeting 319 drug rings in Songkhla, Trang, Satun, Phatthalung, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
The raids had covered 227 drug cases and apprehended 235 suspects.
Police also confiscated 320,829 methamphetamine pills, 4.75 grammes of methamphetamine, 4.81 grammes of heroin and 29 guns, said Pol Lt Gen Sompong.
During the operation, police seized 72 properties from suspects, which are worth 17.4 million baht.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said he has assigned the Provincial Police Region 9 to conduct the investigation.
He added that the Provincial Police Region 9 will be further focusing their efforts on arresting leaders of drug trafficking in the southern provinces.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said that the Provincial Police Region 9 had earlier arrested members from four main drug traffickers in the South, which include two gangs in Songkhla, one gang in Phatthalung and the other in Yala.
He said 18 suspects from the four trafficking gangs were arrested.
Officers also seized 1,971,700 methamphetamine pills and 30 grammes of methamphetamine and their properties worth 14.2 million baht, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said that the lower southern region has become a drug transport hub area from where drugs are shipped to other destinations in the country.
Pol Lt Gen Sompong said he has also assigned the Provincial Police Region 9 to crack down on criminal transactions in the continued efforts to take down drug trafficking gangs. He added that police are preparing a mutually shared database to store records of drug investigations in the South.
The system will also give them access to the records of criminals, drug suspects and felons across the country.
The system will include facial recognition tools, which can be used in police vehicles when patrolling or on operations. The recognition ability of the system is 90% accurate, according to the Hat Yai police station.
