THAILAND / GOLDEN TRIANGLE DRUG TRAFFICKING
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STORY: THAILAND / GOLDEN TRIANGLE DRUG TRAFFICKING
TRT: 7:54
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
SHOTLIST:
11 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
1. Various shots, aerial shots of the Golden Triangle overlooking Thailand, Myanmar and Laos
10 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific:
“So right now, we're standing in Thailand, in the Golden Triangle with Laos and Myanmar directly behind me on the banks of the Mekong, It's one of the biggest drug trafficking corridors in the world. So, we have major production of opium and heroin inside Shan State, but also methamphetamine, synthetic drugs which are spilling out across the region and feeding the whole of Asia Pacific, basically from Japan all the way down to New Zealand and everywhere in between.”
11 MAY 2023, MEKONG RIVER, THAILAND
3. Various shots, sign of Golden Triangle
10 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific:
“The border liaison offices really play a fundamental, crucial role at the very, very front lines of the region. So, what they allow states to do is internally coordinate between agencies, so say where I'm standing here right now in Thailand, we have four to five agencies as members of a Border Liaison Office: customs, immigration, police, border army, other authorities like ONCB the drug authority, they come together, they jointly coordinate internally, but then there is a mirroring operation across the border in Laos, and they can coordinate with the Lao agencies that have the same mandates. So basically, on a range of crime types they can quickly share information, they can take action together. That's the concept. And fundamentally it works relatively well to speed up the action states can take to push back on traffickers and the organized crime.”
11 MAY 2023, MEKONG RIVER, THAILAND
5. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
6. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Captain Phakorn Maniam, Head of Operations and Intelligence Section, Chiangrai-Province Operation Command, Mekong Riverine Unit, Royal Thai Navy:
“Along the Mekong river, there is no clear border line to separate Thailand and Laos. When we conduct operations, sometimes it can be quite sensitive, so we have to be very careful when we conduct operation along the river.”
7. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
8. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Captain Phakorn Maniam, Head of Operations and Intelligence Section, Chiangrai-Province Operation Command, Mekong Riverine Unit, Royal Thai Navy:
“However, despite some challenges, the key thing is the cross-border collaboration between the three countries along this border of the Mekong River to come together and help to tackle the problem of drug trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crime.”
9. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
11 MAY 2023, THAILAND-LAOS, CHAING KHONG – HOUAY SAI BORDER CROSSING
10. Various shots, crossing from Thailand to Laos, Friendship bridge
11. Various shots, Houay Xai check point in Laos
12. SOUNDBITE (Lao) Officer C (name and title not identified for security reasons):
“Our agency is part of the BLO network and the main role we play here is on cross-border collaboration with the Thai side. We have close collaboration with Chiang Khong immigration office on the Thai side, and also the Chiang Khong district office on Thai side, which is under Ministry of Interior of Thailand. So with this cross-border collaboration and sharing of information, we able to counter narcotics trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crimes as well as countering illegal migration.”
11 MAY 2023, KIO THAP YANG CHECKPOINT, MAE CHAN DISTRICT, THAILAND
12. Various shots, officers performing routine checks at the check point
11 MAY 2023, THAILAND-MYANMAR, MAE SAI– THACHILEIK BORDER CROSSING
13. Various shot, BLOs at Mae Sai–Thachileik border crossing
14. Various shots, Mae Sai–Thachileik border crossing
12 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE THAI PHA MUENG TASKFORCE MILITARY BASE, DOI CHANG MUB
15. Various shots, overlooking from Thailand to Myanmar
16. Various shots, BLOs on duty
STORYLINE:
The trafficking of illegal narcotics, precursor chemicals, timber and wildlife, people and illicit goods across Southeast Asia is being tackled thanks to the support of the specialized UN agency focusing on drugs and crime (UNODC).
Jeremy Douglas is the Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Standing in Golden Triangle - “one of the biggest drug trafficking corridors in the world” - the Regional Representative said that synthetic methamphetamine drugs are being trafficked out of Shan State in eastern Myanmar “feeding the whole of Asia Pacific, from Japan all the way down to New Zealand and everywhere in between.”
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar are at the frontlines of illicit trade in Asia dominated by transnational organized crime syndicates.
The crime-fighting authorities in Thailand and Laos are collaborating more closely as a result of UNODC’s Regional Border Management Programme under which a network of border liaisons offices or BLOs were set up to strengthen cross-border cooperation and information sharing.
BLOs are established in pairs—on either side of an international border crossing.
“Border liaison officers really play a fundamental, crucial role at the very, very front lines of the region,” Douglas said.
He added that BLOs can, “on a range of crime types, quickly share information and take action together.”
The Royal Thai Navy Mekong Riverine Unit routinely patrols on the Mekong River close to the border town of Chiang Saen in the north of Thailand. To the right is Laos, where huge construction projects funded by foreign investments are rising out of the lush undergrowth along the riverbank and ahead to the left are the dense jungles of Myanmar.
The crew on the Thai boat is buoyant following the recent seizure of 6.4 million pills of the banned and highly addictive synthetic drug methamphetamine, known locally as yaba.
Speaking about the challenges, Captain Phakorn Maniam said, “Along the river of Thailand and Laos, there is no clear border line to separate the countries. When we conduct operations, sometimes it can be quite sensitive, so we have to be very careful when we conduct operation along the river.”
However, he said, “the key thing is the cross-border collaboration between the three countries – Thailand, Myanmar and Laos - along this border of the Mekong River to come together and help to tackle the problem of drug trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crime.”
On the Laos side of the Mekong River, border authorities at Houay Xai are celebrating their own significant seizure of drugs; the previous night based on intelligence, a military land patrol caught drug mules carrying 500 kilograms of crystal meth, an illegal stimulant drug, that is smoked or injected. The previous month 7.1 million methamphetamine pills had also been seized in the same area.
Despite the seemingly relentless flow of drugs, the Thai and Lao authorities are experiencing some success thanks, in part, to the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which is promoting a regional intelligence gathering network .
Officer C, who is based in Houay Xai with the Lao authorities and who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that cooperating with law enforcement colleagues across the border in Thailand through regular face-to-face meetings and other communications has improved the response to illegal trafficking. “With this cross-border collaboration and sharing of information, we able to counter narcotics trafficking and also other types of transnational organized crime.”
Since 1999 UNODC has supported the establishment of over 120 Border Liaison Offices in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao DPR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam with an estimated 3,000 officers working across the region.
Currently, there are 28 BLOs operating in Thailand covering the borders with Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. Seven BLOs are located Northern Thailand. In Chiang Rai Province, there are three BLOs, namely Mae Sai bordering Thachilek in Myanmar; Chiang Saen bordering Ton Phueng in Lao PDR, and; Chiang Khong bordering Houay Xai.
TRT: 7:54
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
SHOTLIST:
11 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
1. Various shots, aerial shots of the Golden Triangle overlooking Thailand, Myanmar and Laos
10 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific:
“So right now, we're standing in Thailand, in the Golden Triangle with Laos and Myanmar directly behind me on the banks of the Mekong, It's one of the biggest drug trafficking corridors in the world. So, we have major production of opium and heroin inside Shan State, but also methamphetamine, synthetic drugs which are spilling out across the region and feeding the whole of Asia Pacific, basically from Japan all the way down to New Zealand and everywhere in between.”
11 MAY 2023, MEKONG RIVER, THAILAND
3. Various shots, sign of Golden Triangle
10 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE, CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific:
“The border liaison offices really play a fundamental, crucial role at the very, very front lines of the region. So, what they allow states to do is internally coordinate between agencies, so say where I'm standing here right now in Thailand, we have four to five agencies as members of a Border Liaison Office: customs, immigration, police, border army, other authorities like ONCB the drug authority, they come together, they jointly coordinate internally, but then there is a mirroring operation across the border in Laos, and they can coordinate with the Lao agencies that have the same mandates. So basically, on a range of crime types they can quickly share information, they can take action together. That's the concept. And fundamentally it works relatively well to speed up the action states can take to push back on traffickers and the organized crime.”
11 MAY 2023, MEKONG RIVER, THAILAND
5. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
6. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Captain Phakorn Maniam, Head of Operations and Intelligence Section, Chiangrai-Province Operation Command, Mekong Riverine Unit, Royal Thai Navy:
“Along the Mekong river, there is no clear border line to separate Thailand and Laos. When we conduct operations, sometimes it can be quite sensitive, so we have to be very careful when we conduct operation along the river.”
7. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
8. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Captain Phakorn Maniam, Head of Operations and Intelligence Section, Chiangrai-Province Operation Command, Mekong Riverine Unit, Royal Thai Navy:
“However, despite some challenges, the key thing is the cross-border collaboration between the three countries along this border of the Mekong River to come together and help to tackle the problem of drug trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crime.”
9. Various shots, Mekong River patrol by Royal Thai Navy
11 MAY 2023, THAILAND-LAOS, CHAING KHONG – HOUAY SAI BORDER CROSSING
10. Various shots, crossing from Thailand to Laos, Friendship bridge
11. Various shots, Houay Xai check point in Laos
12. SOUNDBITE (Lao) Officer C (name and title not identified for security reasons):
“Our agency is part of the BLO network and the main role we play here is on cross-border collaboration with the Thai side. We have close collaboration with Chiang Khong immigration office on the Thai side, and also the Chiang Khong district office on Thai side, which is under Ministry of Interior of Thailand. So with this cross-border collaboration and sharing of information, we able to counter narcotics trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crimes as well as countering illegal migration.”
11 MAY 2023, KIO THAP YANG CHECKPOINT, MAE CHAN DISTRICT, THAILAND
12. Various shots, officers performing routine checks at the check point
11 MAY 2023, THAILAND-MYANMAR, MAE SAI– THACHILEIK BORDER CROSSING
13. Various shot, BLOs at Mae Sai–Thachileik border crossing
14. Various shots, Mae Sai–Thachileik border crossing
12 MAY 2023, GOLDEN TRIANGLE THAI PHA MUENG TASKFORCE MILITARY BASE, DOI CHANG MUB
15. Various shots, overlooking from Thailand to Myanmar
16. Various shots, BLOs on duty
STORYLINE:
The trafficking of illegal narcotics, precursor chemicals, timber and wildlife, people and illicit goods across Southeast Asia is being tackled thanks to the support of the specialized UN agency focusing on drugs and crime (UNODC).
Jeremy Douglas is the Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Standing in Golden Triangle - “one of the biggest drug trafficking corridors in the world” - the Regional Representative said that synthetic methamphetamine drugs are being trafficked out of Shan State in eastern Myanmar “feeding the whole of Asia Pacific, from Japan all the way down to New Zealand and everywhere in between.”
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar are at the frontlines of illicit trade in Asia dominated by transnational organized crime syndicates.
The crime-fighting authorities in Thailand and Laos are collaborating more closely as a result of UNODC’s Regional Border Management Programme under which a network of border liaisons offices or BLOs were set up to strengthen cross-border cooperation and information sharing.
BLOs are established in pairs—on either side of an international border crossing.
“Border liaison officers really play a fundamental, crucial role at the very, very front lines of the region,” Douglas said.
He added that BLOs can, “on a range of crime types, quickly share information and take action together.”
The Royal Thai Navy Mekong Riverine Unit routinely patrols on the Mekong River close to the border town of Chiang Saen in the north of Thailand. To the right is Laos, where huge construction projects funded by foreign investments are rising out of the lush undergrowth along the riverbank and ahead to the left are the dense jungles of Myanmar.
The crew on the Thai boat is buoyant following the recent seizure of 6.4 million pills of the banned and highly addictive synthetic drug methamphetamine, known locally as yaba.
Speaking about the challenges, Captain Phakorn Maniam said, “Along the river of Thailand and Laos, there is no clear border line to separate the countries. When we conduct operations, sometimes it can be quite sensitive, so we have to be very careful when we conduct operation along the river.”
However, he said, “the key thing is the cross-border collaboration between the three countries – Thailand, Myanmar and Laos - along this border of the Mekong River to come together and help to tackle the problem of drug trafficking and also other type of transnational organized crime.”
On the Laos side of the Mekong River, border authorities at Houay Xai are celebrating their own significant seizure of drugs; the previous night based on intelligence, a military land patrol caught drug mules carrying 500 kilograms of crystal meth, an illegal stimulant drug, that is smoked or injected. The previous month 7.1 million methamphetamine pills had also been seized in the same area.
Despite the seemingly relentless flow of drugs, the Thai and Lao authorities are experiencing some success thanks, in part, to the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which is promoting a regional intelligence gathering network .
Officer C, who is based in Houay Xai with the Lao authorities and who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that cooperating with law enforcement colleagues across the border in Thailand through regular face-to-face meetings and other communications has improved the response to illegal trafficking. “With this cross-border collaboration and sharing of information, we able to counter narcotics trafficking and also other types of transnational organized crime.”
Since 1999 UNODC has supported the establishment of over 120 Border Liaison Offices in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao DPR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam with an estimated 3,000 officers working across the region.
Currently, there are 28 BLOs operating in Thailand covering the borders with Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. Seven BLOs are located Northern Thailand. In Chiang Rai Province, there are three BLOs, namely Mae Sai bordering Thachilek in Myanmar; Chiang Saen bordering Ton Phueng in Lao PDR, and; Chiang Khong bordering Houay Xai.
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