Twelve more police officers responsible for drug suppression in Ayutthaya have been transferred to inactive posts pending an investigation into their suspected involvement in the drug trade.
The transfers compound the embarrassment for the police force in the province, where an investigator was recently sacked for drug-related offences. Arrest warrants are also out for four other officers who remain at large. Seven other drug-suppression officers were sidelined earlier.
In total, 24 police officers supposedly in charge of drug prevention are no longer at their posts.
Pol Maj Gen Sermkid Sittichaiyakarn, the provincial police chief, said those moved included commissioned and non-commissioned officers attached to the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district station.
Three of those transferred had been implicated in the illicit drug trade and may face the same fate as the five officers charged earlier, he said.
He declined to name the officers.
Pol Maj Gen Sermkid Sittichaiyakarn, chief of Ayutthaya police, has vowed to take drastic action against any subordinates found to be dealing drugs. (Photo by Sunthorn Pongpao)
Pol Snr Sgt Maj Boonsueb Chumyim, an investigator at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya station, was dismissed on June 13 for involvement in the illicit drug trade. Subsequently, warrants were issued for four of his colleagues.
An initial police investigation found that Pol Snr Sgt Maj Boonsueb, who was also a member of a drug suppression team, took drugs seized from traffickers and sold them to small dealers. He also allegedly extorted money from drug traffickers.
Pol Maj Gen Sermkid said he had also transferred seven drug-suppression officers attached to the Sena district station for allegedly extorting money from drug traffickers. They now face a disciplinary investigation.
He said that penalties imposed on drug-dealing police would be three times heavier than for civilians who committed the same offices.