ID :
141859
Mon, 09/13/2010 - 19:03
Auther :

Thai authorities destroy 50 tonnes of main 'Ecstasy' drug component by incineration

BANGKOK, Sept 13 - Some 50 tonnes of 'safrole', or sassafras oil, a substance used as a principle component for the production of 'ecstasy' or 'E', an illegal recreational drug, was destroyed in Thailand on Monday.

Justice Minister Peerapan Saleeratwipak presided over the burning at the Bangpoo Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan province.

This amount of safrole can be used to produce more than 63 million pills of ecstasy and other illegal drugs, the ministry said.

The Narcotics Control Board Office, the Thai Customs Department, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized the illegal substance in a joint operation in Chonburi province southeast of Bangkok hidden in three containers, each of which carried around 16.8 tonnes of safrole for transport to China and the United States.

Thailand's Criminal Court ruled in February that the 'safrole' must be legally seized and after the legal process ended, the substance must be destroyed to prevent abundant quantity from being used illegally.

The method of burning is the 'co-current rotary furnace' technique, which is pollution-free and environmentally friendly, the best method in Thailand. (MCOT online news)

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