Seoul (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and Thai authorities have dismantled a large-scale drug production network, seizing nearly 50 tonnes of drug-manufacturing chemicals in and around Bangkok, the NIS announced on June 10.
The operation marked the first time a Korean government agency has directly participated in a crackdown on an overseas drug production base.
The NIS worked with Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to conduct coordinated raids on 10 warehouses in Bangkok and nearby areas on June 9. Authorities confiscated 49.98 tonnes of chemicals, including acetone and hydrochloric acid, key substances used in the production of various synthetic drugs.
The NIS said the seized chemicals were sufficient to produce approximately 700 million doses of narcotics. If converted into finished drugs and distributed on the illicit market, they would have an estimated street value of 8.4 trillion KRW (5.6 billion USD).
The operation followed a request by Thai authorities for the RoK assistance in arresting and extraditing a Thai drug kingpin known as Thapanan, who was detained in Seoul in April.
Described by the NIS as one of Asia’s most notorious drug traffickers, Thapanan is accused of controlling more than half of the narcotics circulating in Thailand. He had been the subject of around 50 arrest warrants issued by Thai authorities over the past decade.
More than 100 personnel from Thailand’s military, police and anti-drug agencies participated in the operation, while the NIS deployed drug enforcement specialists to support intelligence gathering, target identification and operational coordination.
According to the NIS, the successful dismantling of the network is particularly significant as it served as a major source of narcotics not only for the RoK market but also for several other countries across Asia./.
