Thai Examiner
Phuket drug checkpoint scandal. Defence Corps unit set up to target the menace is accused of extortion
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Phuket governor sacks an entire Defence Corps checkpoint team after villagers claim they were urine-tested, then asked for up to ฿15,000 to go free. Bangkok orders a probe as scrutiny falls on Anutin’s nationwide anti-drug operation and its enforcers
Key facts
- Phuket governor sacks an entire Defence Corps checkpoint team after villagers claim they were urine-tested, then asked for up to ฿15,000 to go free
- A drug checkpoint extortion scandal has hit Phuket after villagers claimed black-uniformed Volunteer Defence Corps members demanded up to ฿15,000 for release
- Anutin’s 90-day anti-drug drive mobilises every province with checkpoints and special teams
- Governor Chotinrin Kerdsum has now removed the entire Thalang team and replaced it with 30 personnel as investigators gather evidence
- Crucially, the checkpoint formed part of Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s nationwide Operation 90 Days
- Reported demands ranged from ฿6,000 to ฿15,000.
Summary
A drug checkpoint extortion scandal has hit Phuket after villagers claimed black-uniformed Volunteer Defence Corps members demanded up to ฿15,000 for release. Governor Chotinrin Kerdsum has now removed the entire Thalang team and replaced it with 30 personnel as investigators gather evidence. Yet the story reaches far beyond one checkpoint. The Corps is a nationwide Interior Ministry paramilitary force with policing and national-security duties.
Phuket Governor Chotinrin Kerdsum has replaced an entire Volunteer Defence Corps team following serious extortion complaints in Thalang. The allegations concern villagers stopped and urine-tested for illegal drugs at a district checkpoint. Some complainants say personnel then demanded cash for their release. Reported demands ranged from ฿6,000 to ฿15,000.