Thailand Reviews Pardon Rules After Release of 85-Year-Old Drug Trafficker

Thailand’s government has ordered a review of its pardon system following widespread criticism over the release of an 85-year-old convicted drug trafficker who served less than 10 years of a life sentence.

Laota Saenlee, a former anti-communist guerrilla who later became involved in drug trafficking, was released from a maximum-security prison near Bangkok on Friday following a series of royal pardons.

The decision has sparked public outrage, particularly because of Laota’s alleged links to major drug networks operating in the Golden Triangle.

Arrested in Major Drug Operation

Laota was arrested by undercover officers in 2016 for allegedly selling crystal methamphetamine in the Golden Triangle, the region where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet.

The area has long been associated with large-scale production and trafficking of illegal drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and ketamine.

Thailand’s corrections authorities said Laota’s sentence was reduced through royal pardons and that he was eventually released because of his advanced age and good behaviour while in prison.

Officials said he would remain under monitoring following his release.

Former Narcotics Chief Questions Release

The decision has attracted strong criticism both online and from former law enforcement officials.

Rewat Klinkesorn, a former narcotics police chief who was involved in investigating Laota, said he was shocked that someone he described as a major drug trafficker had been released so early.

Rewat argued that Laota should not have been classified as a “good inmate” given the seriousness of his drug-related offences.

Government Orders Review

Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat said on Tuesday that he had instructed the corrections department to provide details surrounding Laota’s pardon and release.

The minister acknowledged that officials had followed the existing pardon criteria but said there were weaknesses in the rules that needed to be addressed.

“The officials followed the (pardon) criteria, but there are some flaws in the criteria,” Rutthapon said.

The government is now reviewing the criteria used to determine whether prisoners, particularly elderly inmates convicted of serious crimes, qualify for sentence reductions or release.

From Child Soldier to Alleged Drug Trafficker

Laota’s history stretches back decades.

A member of the Lisu ethnic minority, he reportedly joined China’s anti-communist Kuomintang as a child soldier and eventually rose through its ranks.

Like other Kuomintang fighters, he later fought alongside Thai forces against communist insurgents during the 1970s in exchange for sanctuary.

He had reportedly been detained several times before his eventual conviction, although authorities previously struggled to secure lasting charges against him.

Laota has also long been suspected of having connections to Khun Sa, the notorious Myanmar-based rebel leader and drug trafficker who died in 2007.

His release has now reignited debate in Thailand over how pardon and early-release policies should be applied to people convicted of major drug offences.