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independently, that the suppression effort was ineffective. As a result of this meeting it was decided to set up a system of unified control and on December 23, 1963, the Thai Government organized the Cen- tral Bureau of Narcotics under the Director General of the Police Department.
The duties of this Bureau are to:
(1) Suppress all illicit traffic in narcotics;
(2) Take measures to control drug addicts;
(3) Coordinate the activities of the various government agen- cies in narcotics matters;
(4) Cooperate with International Criminal Police Organiza- tion (INTERPOL) for the direct exchange of information on international narcotics matters; and
(5) Coordinate Thailand's activities with those of the United Nations Commission on Narcotics Drugs.
Also in 1961 the Government of Thailand authorized the death penalty for narcotics offenses. The decree stated that manufacturers and traffickers in dangerous drugs will be suppressed mercilessly by the authorities. "In addition to being inflicted with punishment, they will be regarded as traitors against the national security too."
Importation of all chemicals used in the production of opiates such as acetic anhydride has been placed under government regulation. In spite of this regulation, smuggling of acetic anhydride is still a problem. It is manufactured in Japan in large quantities and sold without registration or export controls. It is easy to disguise in various sizes and shapes of containers and detection is difficult.
The Thai Government has also established a Special Narcotics Or- ganization (SNO) to deal with the trafficking of narcotics into and through Thailand.
SPECIAL NARCOTICS ORGANIZATION (SNO)
The movement of illicit narcotics to and through northern Thai- land from the various sectors of the Burma-Laos-Thailand Golden Triangle was virtually unimpeded before 1971. Thai enforcement activities were basically centered in Bangkok with only one officer and three NCO's on station in the north at Chiang Mai. In the summer of 1971 the Royal Thai Government and the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok jointly examined existing Thai enforcement capabilities with the specific objective of enhancing operational effectiveness. This aim was underscored in the September 28, 1971 "Memorandum of Under- standing" in which the two governments agreed to cooperate in a set of programs designed to meet all four facets of the narcotics problem---- enforcement, crop substitution, education, and rehabilitation and training. with priority given to the enforcement effort. (The Thai- United States memorandum of understanding is reproduced in appen- dix D, p. 77.
The basic outline of the requirements for an increased enforce- ment effort evolved out of a series of meetings. It was agreed that, in addition to upgrading the metropolitan police capability, initial em- phasis should be given to developing a new unit, well equipped, mobile and fully backed logistically to operate throughout northern Thailand as a Special Narcotics Organization (SNO). In late 1971 and early