One thousand die in drugs crackdown - Thai police
More than 1,000 people have been killed in a major crackdown on drugs and drug dealers in Thailand, police said today.
But most of the dead were shot by drug dealers trying to silence potential informers, police said.
The announcement came as police moved to allay fears about the death toll following a statement yesterday by the country’s premier that the death toll had topped 1,100.
Officers said that the true toll was 1,035.
The number of suspected drug dealers gunned down in the month-old campaign has risen almost hourly, raising concerns among human rights groups and the United Nations that police officers have been carrying out extra-judicial killings.
Police spokesman Major General Pongsaphat Pongcharoen said the 1,035 people killed so far included 31 suspects who were shot by officers in anti-drug operations.
The authorities say most of the victims were killed by drug gangs trying to silence potential informants.
Suspects killed by police were slain by officers acting in self defence.
“During the period, nine police officers have also been injured and we’ve lost four officers on the job, too,” Pongsaphat said.
He said he expected the number of killings to decrease as the amount of drugs seized grew.
“We’ve been doing very well and expect to do better in the next two months,” Pongsaphat said. “I’m confident police will finally nab the big guys.”
Police have arrested some 29,501 suspects in the campaign, which is aimed mainly at methamphetamine, a stimulant drug produced in factories along the Thai-Burmese border which has fuelled an addiction crisis among some three million Thais.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in a weekly radio address yesterday that more than 1,100 suspects had been killed – including 28 by police – in the campaign scheduled to end on April 30.
Thaksin conceded that authorities were involved in the drug trade and that about 700 government employees would be investigated.
He said complaints about alleged police misconduct would be reviewed by newly formed panels.
On Friday, Thaksin appointed two committees comprised of lawyers and senior police officers to determine whether police have been “acting legally” and to ensure the protection of suspects who cooperate with authorities.
Officials said that police working on an anti-drug operation today raided the house of a man alleged to be a major drug dealer in Trang province, 500 miles south of Bangkok.
Police said they arrested the suspect, who was found with 55 methamphetamine tablets in his house. Authorities confiscated assets including the house, six 10-wheel lorries, a tractor and four pickup trucks.
Police raided the house after investigating the murder of the suspect’s two brothers, who were allegedly killed by drug kingpins trying to prevent them from tipping off police.
Police Colonel Kosol Pringkongphol said: “Police know this guy is a major drug dealer in the province but (until now) we’ve never had any evidence against him.”
