KOTA BARU: The Thai government has expressed concern on the increase of drug cases not only involving its people, but also Malaysians who were arrested in the kingdom.
Citing the Nov 1 drug case in which six Malaysians were detained, Narathiwat governor Trakul Thotham said all agencies in the province had been making efforts to address the problem.
He said the Thai border security had also worked closely with their counterpart in Malaysia to combat this menace.
"Like the Malaysian government, the Thai government also worries about the increase of drug abuse cases in the kingdom.
"I was informed that the Thai police and army, including those stationed along the country's border with Malaysia, have beefed up their checks and operations to nab those involved in drug activities," he told the Malaysian press.
On Nov 1, six Malaysians including a popular dikir barat singer, were arrested in Sungai Golok sub-province for alleged possession of 6,000 pills.
The six, comprising three women and three men, were detained by Thai police in a raid on a hotel in the border town.
Following the arrests, the Narathiwat Provincial Court granted police a further detention order of up to three months or 84 days against the six to enable police to carry out its investigations into the case.
The six are currently held at Narathiwat Prison.
On another note, he said the Thai government would ensure the safety of Malaysians when travelling in Thailand.
"Many Malaysians have entered Thailand for vacation and other purposes, and their numbers recorded in the thousands during the long public and school holidays.
"A majority of them chose to go to popular destination areas in Narathiwat and other southern provinces.
"I would like to assure them that Thai police will maintain the security aspects to make sure no untoward incidents happen to Malaysians and other foreigners," he added.