Packages of amphetamine seized by police in Bokeo province (Source: Vientiane Times) During a routine patrol of the road linking Huayxai Simeuangngam and Donethat villages, a police officer chased the pick-up truck after it failed to stop when flagged down.
The driver then abandoned the vehicle after firing a gun at the pursuing officer and fled the scene. A search of the pick-up revealed 40 bags containing 8 million amphetamine pills, with a combined weight of 800 kilos.
Laos is increasingly used as a transit country for the shipment of amphetamine and heroin as well as precursor chemicals.
Numerous drug busts have occurred in Bokeo province. One of the biggest interceptions took place in November last year, when soldiers and police in Meung district found 1.6 million amphetamine pills abandoned in a rubber plantation.
The northwest border in the Golden Triangle area is the main gateway for the drug flow into Laos, while the southern border is increasingly used for drug outflow.
According to the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision, police have handled 10,800 drug-related cases nationwide and arrested more than 15,900 people, as part of an intensified campaign to curb the drug trade under the government’s National Agenda on Resolving the Drug Problem.
In 2021, to deal with the increasingly complicated situation of drug trafficking and transportation, the Lao National Assembly approved the National Programme on Drug Prevention and Control For the 2021-2023 period. In November 2023, the Lao Government decided to continue implementing the programme until the end of 2025, and at the same time considered the fight against drugs a tough, long-term battle and the most urgent task./.
Numerous drug busts have occurred in Bokeo province. One of the biggest interceptions took place in November last year, when soldiers and police in Meung district found 1.6 million amphetamine pills abandoned in a rubber plantation.
The northwest border in the Golden Triangle area is the main gateway for the drug flow into Laos, while the southern border is increasingly used for drug outflow.
According to the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision, police have handled 10,800 drug-related cases nationwide and arrested more than 15,900 people, as part of an intensified campaign to curb the drug trade under the government’s National Agenda on Resolving the Drug Problem.
In 2021, to deal with the increasingly complicated situation of drug trafficking and transportation, the Lao National Assembly approved the National Programme on Drug Prevention and Control For the 2021-2023 period. In November 2023, the Lao Government decided to continue implementing the programme until the end of 2025, and at the same time considered the fight against drugs a tough, long-term battle and the most urgent task./.
VNA
