Police officers from the Inspection and Drugs Control Office in Sangthong District have destroyed a Kratom plantation that was grown illegally.
Mr. Sivilay Phomnaxay, head of the Inspection and Drugs Control Office in Sangthong District, said on Monday that a local couple had illegally planted 110 Kratom trees in the area.
The couple told the police that they saw an advertisement for the sale of Kratom trees on the Facebook page of a Thai person, and ordered the saplings via the same page.
Mr. Sivilay added that the production or distribution of Kratom is illegal in the country owing to the herb’s drug-related properties. The gathered police officers uprooted all the trees and burned the ground so that their roots were destroyed as well.
On the same day, police patrolled Vientiane’s entertainment venues and seized several plastic bottles containing kratom tea.
Lao social media users have earlier called on authorities online to legalize the use of Kratom after two young people were apprehended for selling and processing Kratom juice.
In July this year, the Lao Ministry of Health sent a letter to the Thai Trade Ambassador in Laos explaining that the Kratom plant remains illegal in Laos.
