Drug dealers behind Thailand bombings, say police

true lilly Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:52 pm

Drug dealers behind Thailand bombings,
say police
by Staff Writers
From: AAP
September 17, 2011 5:52PM

THAI authorities alleged drug dealers had a hand in deadly
coordinated bombings in the country's south that killed four people and
wounded dozens more.

Police Colonel Jakraporn Thaenthong said the death toll from Friday
night's three bombs in the border town of Sungai Kolok climbed to four
after a wounded victim died in hospital.

Jakraporn, the town's police chief, said that 13 of the more than 60 people hurt
in the attack were severely wounded.

The attack by bombs concealed in a car and two motorcycles in the town
bordering Malaysia was one of the biggest since Thailand's new government
was installed in August.

More than 4700 people have been killed in the Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces of Thailand since an Islamist insurgency erupted in 2004.No one immediately claimed

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"The attacks were in response to the authorities' frequent crackdown on narcotics,'' Jakraporn said.

He said that since the new government took office in August, police have
seized about 100,000 methamphetamine tablets in Narathiwat province,
where Sungai Kolok is located.

He said the latest anti-drug crackdown in the area took place on Wednesday.

"We believe drug dealers funded the insurgents in the case of last night's incident,'' he said.

"They definitely aimed at harming the public, given the time and the
locations of the explosions.'' The explosions took place outside a major
hotel and two community centres in early evening.

A massive military effort has failed to stop the violence in the south, attributed
to the secretive insurgents who advocate separatism. On Thursday,
suspected Muslim insurgents killed five soldiers and severely wounded
another in a roadside bombing in neighbouring Pattani province.

Some Thai officials have long alleged ties between the drug trade and the violence,
but they have offered little evidence.

Several small fires were set off by Friday's explosions. Authorities cut off
mobile phone service in the area to prevent possible detonations of more
bombs, and traffic was snarled by army roadblocks.

Sungai Kolok attracts tourists from neighbouring Malaysia for shopping and nightlife,
including prostitution, which is less tolerated in their home country.
But attacks in recent years have discouraged visitors.

The previous most dramatic attack in the town occurred during celebrations
of the 2008 New Year, when suspected Muslim insurgents set off five
bombs in its hotel and nightlife area, wounding 27 people.