Methamphetamine (icon image)
Photo: Z1006 Matthias Hiekel/ dpa
All monks at a Buddhist temple in Thailand have been sent to rehab because of positive drug tests.
The four monks at a temple in rural Bung Sam Phan district, including an abbot, have tested positive for the synthetic drug methamphetamine, official Boonlert Thintapthai told AFP on Tuesday.
The monks were therefore sent to a clinic for drug withdrawal.
"The temple no longer has any monks," the official said.
The residents are therefore worried that they will no longer be able to fulfill their religious duties, for example by providing the monks with food.
Therefore, other Buddhist monks would be ordered to the temple.
The Bangkok Post also reported on the case.
Smuggled to Thailand via Laos
Thailand is considered a major transit country for the illicit trade in methamphetamine.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the drug is manufactured in Myanmar's Shan State and then smuggled into Thailand via Laos.
A meth pill is said to be available for street sales there for less than 20 baht (0.54 euros).
In recent years, authorities in various South Asian countries have repeatedly seized record amounts of methamphetamine.
wit/AFP