National —
The Royal Thai Police has extended a joint operation with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to crack down on transnational drug trafficking networks between the two countries.
The Royal Thai Police, represented by Mr. Thanakorn Kainan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Narcotics Control Board, convened a meeting with the AFP on Tuesday, July 25th, to discuss the results of the joint anti-drug-trafficking “Taskforce Storm” operation. Representing the AFP was Mr. Peter Sykora, the Regional Commander of the AFP for the Asian region.
Since Thailand collaborated with the AFP, a total of 20 operations have been conducted, with 6 successful operations and 14 still ongoing, Thanakorn said during the meeting. As a result of these efforts, a total of 55 drug suspects have been arrested, and 13 people wanted on arrest warrants have been apprehended.
The combined amount of seized illicit substances is over 13 tons (13,393.44 kg), and assets worth over 1.15 billion Baht or approximately 51 million Australian dollars have been confiscated.
Based on these results, Thanakorn said the operation has proven to be highly effective in combating cross-border crimes. As a result, the two countries have agreed to extend the joint operation for another 2 years, before signing the document to officially extend the operation until July 18th, 2025.
