Opium drought ends
By a correspondent in Chiang Mei, north-west Thailand.
Happy days are here again for; the opium-growing hill tribes of south-east Asia and the ; dealers who process and sell’their product ;\ After two years of drought ’in the <Golden Triangle — the 75,000 square miles of hilly country where Burma, Laos and Thailand; meet, -r the. rains ■ have come. Thai officials estimatet that: a bumper -600 ; itonnes 6f opium will be harvested. next April. ►. T ’ The crop should -be easy*. tbKsell, " because some of th a world’s other drug-producing areasare having problems. Afghan poppy farmers are busy killing Russians. Iran and Iraq are fighting each other. Pakistan and Turkey
show signs of getting tougher with drug dealers and smugglers. ■ Most of the Golden Triangle’s poppy fields are. \ in Burma, but most of the opium finds its way to the- ’ outside world through Thailand’s ; excellent ’ transport system. . \... . ? The Thais co-operate with; t narcotic agents from ,10/ < countries- (including.-'Newft, Zealand) to track ■: dqmi < drug couriers, and. shipments / . of- : the ■' chemicals, used; to . turn the opium into heroin. Acetic-;,s anhydride, ; 'for example, is thought to eome ? to Thailand / frorn . Japan < 1 through Taiwan and J‘Malaysia and is then moved across the border to illegal
heroin ’ laboratories in Burma. <■. ' But one way or ; the'\;drug .inen continue to <■?-thrive." Until fairly recently corrupt' Thai officials were ? believed to be taking their / cut Troth the appalling Ltrade-; Crop replacement .—cof- - fee, for example Sr- was » thought be . the . way to discourage: growers, but that y - did /not work because ■■ the growers "are; addicted ; to- . opium, not coffee. And the > money is . getting better for.; trafficker. .Aokitof of high-quality heroin "sells for . $lB,OOO wholesale in Bangy' kbk" and up to $200,000 fa 'New York." How many coffee beans make that kind of money.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19801229.2.106
Bibliographic details
Press, 29 December 1980, Page 16
Word Count
296Opium drought ends Press, 29 December 1980, Page 16
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.