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Thailand admitted it hastily announced after initial testing showed it to be a drug – Photo: Bangkok Post
In an explanation on Nov. 24, Thailand’s Ministry of Justice said 11.5 tons of white powder discovered in a warehouse in Chachoengsao province on Nov. 12 was not ketamine hydrochloride, a synthetic drug, but trisodium phosphate. a substance used as a food additive. They both turn purple on the drug test.
“This is a misunderstanding. It is not a mistake, but new knowledge,” Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.
The Office of the Thai Drug Control Commission (ONCB) announced on 12-11 the arrest of an unprecedented amount of drugs after the powder turned purple in drug tests. The ONCB even confirmed that the quantity of “drugs” involved a multinational line.
However, after taking the dust sample to the laboratory, it was discovered that it was actually a substance commonly used in the food and cleaning industry.
“I admit that holding a press conference to announce the arrest of the drug may be rushed. But in this case, ONCB was informed of the arrest of ketamine in Taiwan, the case under investigation, and determined to be definitely related to this case. “explained Mr. Somsak.
He also said that this case of “error” has occurred in some countries, but that it is the first time it has happened in Thailand. “When I gave the last press conference, I didn’t say it was 100% ketamine,” he said.
In the pharmaceutical industry, ketamine is used as an anesthetic or antidepressant, but it is also abused to create hallucinations.
However, Mr. Somsak admitted that the arrest information caused a lot of false information to spread widely on social media and hurt many people involved, although he did not specifically say so.
The Thai judicial leader also said that ONCB will hold a seminar on drug testing after the incident.
