Chettha to seek Burmese help in sei

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Chettha to seek Burmese help in seizing Bang Ron 

                                                           
                                        December 1, 1998 
                     NARCOTICS

 Chettha to seek
 Burmese help in
 seizing Bang Ron

 Former army chief set to leave for Burma

 Gen Chettha Thanajaro will go to Burma tomorrow to seek help in
 catching Surachai "Bang Ron" Ngernthongfu, the fugitive
 amphetamines baron.

 During the one-day, unofficial visit, the security adviser to Sanan
 Kachornprasart, the interior minister, will also seek Rangoon's
 cooperation in drug suppression along the border.

 The former army chief, who is close to Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt,
 secretary-general of the State Peace and Development Council,
 expected positive developments in the hunt for Bang Ron.

 "We are very confident we can capture Bang Ron soon," said Gen
 Chettha.

 Banjerd Theeravet, a close associate of Bang Ron arrested on
 Saturday, told police he believed Bang Ron was with Burmese
 minority groups.

 Police took Mr Banjerd to the criminal court yesterday to extend his
 detention without bail. Mr Banjerd said later he was close to Bang
 Ron, who respected him "like his father".

 Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, the national police chief, who expected
 Bang Ron to be caught within the week, said arrest warrants would be
 issued for other members of the amphetamine syndicate.

 Gen Pracha declined to say if Mr Banjerd had provided details of
 military officers involved in the gang but said his statements had been
 useful.

 "We couldn't disclose the names of military officers involved in the
 drug gang at this stage because of police ethics," he said. "We need
 solid evidence and witnesses."

 Gen Surayud Chulanont, the army commander, and Gen Mongkol
 Ampornpisith, the supreme commander, were concerned about the
 involvement of military officers in the drug gang, he said. They had
 given police assurances the army would not protect military officers
 implicated.

 Meanwhile, an aide to Gen Chettha denied Maj-Gen Sanan had
 bypassed the Foreign Ministry to resolve problems with Rangoon.

 "He has never bypassed the Foreign Ministry. It is the ministry which
 occasionally seeks Gen Chettha's advice in tackling problems with
 Burma and asks him to help coordinate and resolve problems," he
 said.

 Gen Surayud has called for a change of policy in dealing with Burma,
 demanding that diplomacy and not personal connections play the
 leading role in foreign affairs.

 The aide said Gen Chettha, as first army commander in 1992, had
 been asked by the ministry at the time to tackle border problems that
 cropped up in his area.

                                                       
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 Last Modified: Tue, Dec 1, 1998
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