CityNews – It was announced on September 10 that over 1,800 rai of opium poppy plantations were destroyed by the Northern 3rd Army’s Drug Prevention and Suppression Centre in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other local provinces.
A total of 2,168 opium poppy plantations were destroyed in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Tak and Kamphaeng Phet provinces, according to Lt Gen Sathit Pitharat.
The Army’s Drug Prevention and Suppression Centre’s mission is to reduce the number of poppy plantations to help curb the production and export of illicit drugs from Thailand.
The centre believes that poppy cultivation has declined in the last year, mostly due to the severe drought.