Buddhist monks who failed drug tests are defrocked and sent to rehab

Four men tested positive for methamphetamine

A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without monks after all its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked, a local official said Tuesday.

Four monks including an abbot at a temple in Phetchabun province's Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told the AFP news agency.

The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said. All four of the monks reportedly failed police urine tests, though it was not clear what brought the temple to the attention of the authorities.

“The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making,” he said.

Merit-making involves worshippers donating food to monks as a good deed.

Mr Boonlert said more monks will be sent to the temple to allow villagers to practise their religious obligations.

Thailand is a major transit country for methamphetamine flooding in from Myanmar's troubled Shan state via Laos, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

On the street, pills sell for less than 20 baht (around $0.50).

Authorities across South East Asia have made record meth seizures in recent years.

Overall, a record 171.5 tonnes of meth were intercepted in 2021, with more than one billion methamphetamine tablets seized by authorities.

License this content