Bid to halt dope traffic

Press, 13 July 1976, Page 8

Bid to halt dope traffic

NZPA Bangkok Drug experts from Europe, Asia, and the United States began a three-day conference yesterday in northern Thailand designed to find measures to stem the flow of narcotics from the infamous “Golden Triangle.” The meeting in Chiang Mai, one of the world’s drug capitals, is attended by about 80 delegates from 15 nations, including the host, Thailand.

Officials of Thailand’s Narcotics Suppression Centre say the group will focus on international cooperation in fighting drug trafficking and will try to acquaint foreign experts with Thailand's drug suppression problems. The delegates are scheduled to travel to the rugged region where the borders of Burma, Laos, and Thailand converge — the “Golden Triangle” — to show them the difficulties in stopping border drug smuggling. Drug sources say it is unfortunate that Burma and Laos did not send representatives to the conference. An estimated two-thirds of the world’s illicit opium — which is refined into heroin — comes from the Triangle and most of it flows through the Chiang Mai region to Bangkok and from there to Asia, Europe, and the United States.