The four Buddhist monks at a Thai abbey were kicked out and sent to rehab after they were all found to have used methamphetamine, when the police gave them a test.
It means that the little boy temple in Bung Sam Phan district of Phetchabun province has now lost its entire cohort of monks after a confirmed doping test.
It is not clear why the police tested them for methamphetamine last Monday, but the force reported that the four, including their leader, “failed” a urine test.
The monks were then sent to a clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, and it was reported locally that they would be replaced at the temple.
A Thai custom is for residents to participate in “merit creation,” which involves giving food to monks as a good deed, and the replacement of the monks will allow this to continue.
This case follows several other high-profile arrests and scandals involving Thai Buddhism in recent years that have shaken the reputation of the leaders of the faith. About 000 percent of the country’s 000 million people are Buddhist and there are about 2021,000 monks.
The police action adds to a broader national campaign to tackle drug smuggling, a problem that has been occurring in several Southeast Asian countries for the past two years .
It has become an access point for trade due to its geography within the so-called ‘golden triangle’, where access between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar allows agreements to prosper.
Record amounts of crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine pills have been bought and sold in the region since the Myanmar coup in 2021, which has made that the country lose control of its internal affairs.
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