The International Narcotics Control College (INCC), a newly based establishment in Chiang Rai, Thailand, is about to supply specialised training for regulation enforcement agents and related organisations, with the mission of curbing drug trafficking within the Mekong subregion. Nestled within the compound of the Hall of Opium, Thailand’s opium museum, in Chiang Saen district, the INCC is the first of its sort in the Mekong area.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) jointly launched the faculty. Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and Pacific, views the faculty as a useful alternative for the ONCB and its partners to ship innovative programmes addressing drug trafficking.
“We are looking at offering courses on the INCC in drug intelligence and analysis, border administration, precursor chemical management, as properly as drug policy and demand reduction.”
The INCC will complement the existing Safe Mekong Coordination Center (SMCC) of the ONCB in Chiang Saen, which continues to monitor drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle and Mekong subregion nations. The Golden Triangle, incorporating Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, is a major opium-producing space in Southeast Asia. Douglas emphasised that UNODC will assist SMCC duties, such as drug evaluation, and supply new intelligence software and training.
The ONCB’s secretary-general, Wichai Chaimongkhon, stated the INCC came into being after the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which manages the Hall of Opium, donated some land at the museum to the ONCB. The idea of an international anti-drugs institution for the subregion was conceived, resulting in the creation of the INCC.
Protected will mainly concentrate on instructing investigation, prevention and suppression ideas in drug trafficking. The college, located in a forest near the Mekong River, may also act as a research centre in the region. The location is designed to supply hands-on experiences in combatting drug trafficking on land and water.
The INCC is financed by the ONCB’s Drug Prevention and Suppression Fund, which features a portion of money confiscated by the court from drug traffickers. The centre also receives sponsorship from the UNODC, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
Wichai sees the present launch as simply the first stage of growth, with some facilities, such as a seminar room, the taking pictures gallery and the drug analysis centre, but to be completed. The centre is predicted to be fully operational by the following yr, reported Bangkok Post.
“We hope this training centre will strengthen crime-solving capacities in the Mekong subregion, particularly on this period when drug crimes are becoming highly digitised and sophisticated,” Wichai said. “We need to increase our capability to ensure we will address drug crimes within the region.”
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