Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat has instructed the Customs Department to beef up its inspections of international freight using Thailand as a transit point following the seizure of 446 kilogrammes of heroin in Taiwan worth around 6 billion baht.
As the narcotics arrived on a flight out of Bangkok, the case has shone a light on potential flaws in the system of checking exports leaving the country.
In this case, the X-ray machine was unable to completely scan the inside of more than 2,000 wooden planks before they were sent to Taiwan. The drugs were stashed inside them.
The ministry has instructed the department to work with the Royal Thai Police in deploying police dogs to reinforce their inspections, Mr Santi said.
Customs Department director-general Patchara Anuntasilpa said the criteria for conducting random inspections will be scaled up depending on the profile of the exporter. Formerly, random checks were conducted on 10% of containers but this will be expanded to 20%.
The department will also liaise closely with its peers in other countries, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Sarayut Sa-nguanphokhai, the commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said the police and other agencies as well as military groups met yesterday to work out enhanced suppression measures against drug trafficking networks that use Thailand as a transit point.
ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkol has also met Jeremy Douglas from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Simon Lalic from the Australian Federal Police to better suppress transnational drug trafficking.
