Backlash after Thailand frees 85-year-old drug trafficker
Thailand will review pardon rules after 85-year-old drug trafficker Laota Saenlee was freed after serving less than 10 years.
The Thai justice minister pledged on Tuesday to reevaluate the criteria for pardons following widespread outrage over the release of 85-year-old drug trafficker Laota Saenlee. Laota, a former anti-communist guerrilla turned drug runner with ties to powerful Myanmar drug kingpins, was arrested in 2016 for selling crystal meth in the Golden Triangle region, where illicit drug production is rampant.
He served less than a decade of a life sentence before being released due to his age and good behavior. The Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos converge, is a notorious hub for the world's biggest drug traffickers, who move vast quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and ketamine across borders. Laota's release sparked widespread condemnation on social media, with former narcotics police chief Rewat Klinkesorn expressing shock that such a notorious drug dealer was freed so early.
The corrections department defended its decision, stating they followed the pardon criteria, but acknowledged flaws in those criteria and promised a review. Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat ordered the department to clarify the facts surrounding Laota's pardon and release. Laota, a Lisu ethnic minority member, had been detained multiple times before his conviction in 2017, but charges never stuck.
He joined China's anti-communist Kuomintang as a child soldier and fought against communist insurgents in Thailand in the 1970s, receiving sanctuary in the process.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
