BANGKOK: The small flat in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, is dimly lit. A few women stand around waiting. About 30 minutes later, a group of men come in with bags, filled to the brim with pills. The women quickly take out a few bags and place them underneath panels in their carriers. This is the drug trade at its worst. The women are then sent to Malaysia with the hope of delivering the drugs to agents across the border. For the women, it is a dangerous endeavor that risks their very life by entering Malaysia with drugs. The penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia is death. “But the pay is really good and we are all poor. It is either be a drug carrier or worse,” said Sunil, who told Bikyamasr.com that without opportunities for women in Thailand, it is either carry drugs or become a sex worker. “And I don't want to do that.” But Malaysia and Thailand are hoping to work together to curtail the rising drug trade that has grown in recent years, with women being the focus of the crackdown. In Malaysia, Bukit Aman Narcotics Chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police are aware of the latest trend whereby women are becoming drug traffickers and not being used as drug mules like in the past. They believe they are the brains behind such operations, but women like Sunil say it is unlikely. “Maybe all these while police have been focusing on drug traffickers who are men and probably that is why women have seized the opportunity to become drug traffickers. “This is not a new phenomena because many women are involved willingly and not being forced into such activities,” he told reporters after chairing the 35th Malaysia-Thailand bilateral meeting on Narcotics Law Enforcement Cooperation. Thailand was represented by Deputy Secretary-general of the Thailand Narcotics Control board, Sukhum Opasniputh. Noor Rashid said statistics involving Malaysians detained for drug offenses by Thailand in 2011 showed 17 men and a women but the statistics released until October this year showed 30 men and 7 women were detained in Thailand for drug trafficking. He added that the number of Thai nationals detained in Malaysia for the year 2011 was 208 men and 66 women but the figures until September showed 145 men and 74 women were detained for drug trafficking. “The statistics clearly show that there has been a drastic increase in women drug traffickers. More and more women are daringly involved in drug trafficking,” he said.
