Fresh-faced youths with an air of naivety are being used as "tools" by ruthless drug gangs to help peddle their wares.

Fresh-faced youths with an air of naivety are being used as "tools" by ruthless drug gangs to help peddle their wares.

But police have become wise to the practice of recruiting young drug mules.

The arrest of three teenage boys aged 16 to 17 and the seizure of 12 speed pills last Sunday morning surprised officers who said they never suspected teens would be involved with a drug ring.

These boys, as well as other youngsters who have never been addicted to drugs, are being recruited by gangs to deliver drugs to customers, Tao Pun police station deputy superintendent of crime suppression Sathit Sangpraphai said.

Police who were inspecting houses along Khao Larm alley in Tao Pun on the last day of the Songkran holiday last week spotted "irregular behaviour" by a group of three teens on a motorcycle.

The officers conducted body searches and found one of them had 12 speed pills hidden in his underpants. Up to 20 packets of methamphetamine were also found. A further search of their rooms uncovered 1,745 speed pills and a money transfer slip valued at 200,000 baht.

The boys admitted to police they had been hired by a woman identified as "Chu", the owner of a computer game shop in Bang Sue area, to deliver drugs for nearly six months.

They were paid more than 3,000 baht a month in return for the delivery of between 10 and 200 pills each time.

The investigation revealed Chu is an alleged key methamphetamine agent in Bang Sue, Tao Pun and Pracha Chuen areas. Police said she received drugs through her contacts with her younger brother, who is jailed in Pathum Thani, and his friend known as "Hieng Saphankwa".

"This drug gang only chooses good teenagers with no background of drug addiction," Pol Lt Gen Sathit said.

Police do not usually suspect children _ especially those who don't appear to be addicted to drugs _ of being involved in these activities. When they have their urine tested, the result will clear them of drug charges. These teenagers, he concluded, have never been a target of police officers.

He said Chu used her computer game shop as a venue to recruit her young drug mules. When she sees one, she will approach him and gain his trust before luring him into selling drugs with a promise of good money every month.

"Many youngsters have family problems," Pol Lt Gen Sathit said. "They do not have money to attend school, so some spend money [from drug trafficking] for their school tuition."

Police found Chu kept speed pills at two rooms in a luxurious condominium in the Pracha Chuen area. When she wanted to sell the drugs, she would call the teenagers to her store and hand them key cards to open the rooms.

Police were preparing to seek a court warrant for her arrest.

However, the woman fled after the three boys were nabbed.

The three boys have been sent to Ban Metta Juvenile Detention Centre. Police also discussed their actions with their families to find ways to prevent them from being involved with drug gangs when they grow up.

Officers at the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Children and Women Protection Sub-Division are gathering information from communities across Bangkok to find whether other teenagers have been lured into working with drug gangs.

Pol Capt Kittimet Chotpiticharoenrat, deputy police inspector of the sub-division, admitted the use of teenagers, particularly those under 15, has become popular among drug gangs.

Police need to know what happens in those communities to work with teenagers' families to plan ways to protect them from illegal activities.

Families play an important role in preventing and solving the problem, Pol Lt Gen Sathit said.

He suggested they help police by observing their children's spending behaviour and finding out where they get their money.

Pol Lt Gen Sathit also warned children should be kept away from computer game shops which have proved to be a channel to lead them into the drug trade.

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