NIS participates in joint operation to seize nearly 50 tons of drug chemicals in Thailand

“The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Wednesday it has participated in a joint operation with Thai authorities to seize nearly 50 tons of drug-producing chemicals in Thailand. It marked the first time that a Korean government agency has directly participated in a crackdown on an overseas drug production base. Seoul's spy agency said it worked with Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to raid 10 warehouses in and around Bangkok on Tuesday, confiscating 49.98 tons of chemicals, including acetone and hydrochloric acid, which can be used to produce narcotics. According to the NIS, the confiscated quantity was enough to produce some 700 million doses of drugs, with an estimated street value of about 8.4 trillion won ($5.59 billion), if distributed as finished narcotics. The operation was launched following a request from Thai authorities to the NIS to arrest and extradite a Thai drug kingpin, known as Thapanan, in Seoul in April. Described by the NIS as one of Asia's biggest drug traffickers, Thapanan was accused of distributing more than half of the narcotics circula

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