Buddhist temple is empty after all monks are caught in drug test

A small Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left empty after all the monks failed drug tests, local authorities say.

Assessments by four monks, including the abbot, in the Bung Sam Phan district of Phetchabun province in the north of the country showed the presence of methamphetamine, Boonlert Thintapthai, a local official, told the AFP news agency.

The monks were reportedly removed from the temple on Monday (28), after police subjected them to urine toxicology tests. Authorities did not say, however, what drew attention to the temple. The operation took place in the midst of a national campaign to combat drug trafficking.

Thintapthai claimed that the monks were later sent to a clinic to undergo a drug rehabilitation programme. He told AFP that “the temple is now empty, without monks, and locals are worried that they won’t be able to get any merit.”

Earning merit is an important Buddhist practice in which devotees gain protective power through good deeds—in this case, giving food to monks.

Thintapthai said regional officials had sought help from the local monastic head, who had promised to assign new monks to the temple in a bid to address worshipers’ concerns.

In recent years, methamphetamine has become a major problem in Thailand — and seizures of the drug hit an all-time high in 2021, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The country is a major transit point for methamphetamine. The drugs arrive from Myanmar, the world’s largest producer of methamphetamine, via Laos. The pills are then sold on the street for around 50 baht ($1.40).

Last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a crackdown on drugs after a former police officer who had been fired for possession of methamphetamine killed 37 people during a massacre at a day care center.

This text was published here.