Most Participants Are Male, Many Presumed Sexual Minorities
Majority of Participants Are Social Leaders
About 120 people were caught by the police while holding a drug party at a hotel in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
On the 10th, foreign media such as AFP and The Nation reported that Thai police arrested 124 people who were holding a drug party in a hotel suite located in the Sukhumvit area of downtown Bangkok on the 8th. Most of those arrested were men, and many of them were found to be homosexual. Except for five foreigners, most of the participants were Thai nationals.
About 120 people were caught by the police while holding a drug party at a hotel in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. On the 10th, AFP and The Nation reported that Thai police arrested 124 people on the 8th at a hotel suite located in the Sukhumvit area in downtown Bangkok, where a drug party was taking place. Bangkok Post
When the police raided the scene, most participants were in their underwear, and various drugs such as ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, and ketamine were found. Urine tests showed that 66 people tested positive for drugs, and 31 were found in possession of drugs. In particular, the person believed to have hosted the party was found to possess a large amount of drugs. Investigations revealed that many of the party participants were social elites. It was uncovered that they had been organizing the parties in strict secrecy through social networking services (SNS). The police stated that these individuals had been regularly holding drug parties at several hotels near Bangkok and vowed to strictly punish them regardless of their social status.
Meanwhile, Thailand is emerging as a major route for illegal drug trafficking in Southeast Asia, making drug problems a serious social issue. In response, shocking incidents have occurred, such as an elderly mother building a prison at home to confine her drug-addicted son around last November. The 64-year-old mother, fearing harm to herself and neighbors after her son in his 40s, who was addicted to drugs, was recently released following rehabilitation, had a prison built at home to confine him.
Authorities explained that the mother’s actions were illegal and a violation of human rights, but the son’s behavior had become increasingly aggressive and unpredictable after decades of addiction, rehabilitation, and relapse. Additionally, in Udon Thani Province in the northeast, a 3-year-old boy addicted to drugs was found wandering on a highway and was rescued by the police.
Last November, in Nanglong area of Buriram Province, eastern Thailand, an elderly woman installed a prison cell with iron bars in her house to confine her son who was addicted to drugs. Khaosod
At the time, the child was trying to walk about 15 km to his grandmother’s house when he was discovered, and those who witnessed it reported it to the police. The police safely handed the child over to his mother, who then took him to his grandmother’s house. Investigations revealed that the child’s mother, due to drug addiction, often neglected the child, causing him to starve and beg for food from neighbors and temples.
Among these issues, the 'Golden Triangle,' the border area between Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, is known as a global drug production site, and drugs produced in this area are spreading to various countries through Thailand. According to a synthetic drug report released this year by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in May, the amount of methamphetamine (Philopon) seized in Southeast and East Asia last year reached a record high of 190 tons. Furthermore, after the Thai government legalized medical marijuana use in 2022, side effects such as increased recreational marijuana use and youth marijuana addiction have grown, prompting efforts to revoke marijuana legalization and implement countermeasures.
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