Chiang Rai News
3rd Army Eradicates Opium Poppy Plantations in Northen Thailand
Drug Suppression authorities and soldiers of the 3rd army eradicate opium poppy farmlands in the North of Thailand
CHIANG RAI – Third Army commander Lt Gen Preecha Chan-o-cha, who also serves as director of the National Command Center for Drugs Elimination, said the Third Army had found several poppy plantations for producing opium in the northern parts of Thailand.
Lt Gen Preecha was presiding over the 2014 announcements on the regulation of poppy opium plantations and logging at the camp of King Naresuan the great in Phitsanulok province.
About 19 plantations in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kamphaeng Phet and Nan had been eradicated, he said.
This year, his division had destroyed 2,490 poppy opium plantations — more than 1,900 rai — accounting for 99.51% of the total area of discovered plantations.
The crackdown is taking a toll on the market. With each plantation successfully eradicated, the price of poppy opium goes up.
