BANGKOK– Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has ordered subordinates to nail the businesses that launder illicit drug money and seize 1.5 billion from them by August.
He said that anti-narcotic officials recently arrested 125 drug suspects and seized 15.7 million speed pills in the North and they expected to freeze 50 million baht worth of assets related to the arrested drug traffickers.
The minister said the Golden Triangle was a big drug source and traffickers were actively laundering money to send it back to drug producers outside the country. The money-laundering involved the purchase of bullions, gold ornaments and construction materials as well as online gambling which facilitated daily money transfers, Mr Somsak said.
“Officials will look for suspicious businesses that grow unusually fast in the past few years. The Revenue Department will support the investigation and apply taxation for the purpose,” the minister said.
The intensified action against the money-laundering should result in the seizure of drug money worth 1.5 billion baht within August compared with 700 million baht seized from drug traffickers last year, Mr Somsak said. (TNA)
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