An eight-month investigation linked 967 cattle across five provinces to a former animal-feed salesman accused of selling salbutamol to farms.
Thai police and livestock officials say they have dismantled a network that supplied a banned muscle-building drug to cattle farms. This was after an eight-month investigation that traced the substance from a market beef stall back to the man accused of selling it.
Officers linked 967 cattle at farms in five provinces to the operation and seized animal feed, raw chemicals, feed additives and production equipment worth 32.37m baht, the Central Investigation Bureau said at a press conference on 15 September. Moreover, more than 80m baht had passed through the bank accounts of the alleged supplier.
The drug is salbutamol, a beta-agonist better known as an asthma medicine. Added illegally to feed, it builds muscle and strips fat from fattening cattle, raising their sale price.
Residues stay in the meat. Eating it can cause an irregular heartbeat, trembling hands, nausea and dizziness. In severe cases, it can be fatal, said Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, director-general of the Department of Livestock Development. People with heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, pregnant women and children are most at risk.
The investigation began on 11 February. On that day, officers from the Consumer Protection Police Division tested beef at a stall in a large market in Pathum Thani and found residues of the drug, said Pol Maj Gen Kongkrit Lertsittikul, the division’s commander.
Investigators traced the meat back to farms in Saraburi, Suphan Buri and Kanchanaburi. Urine samples from cattle repeatedly tested positive and feed was being produced without a licence. In all, officers searched 16 sites in those provinces plus Pathum Thani and Phetchaburi between February and September.
Financial records pointed to one man, identified by police only by the pseudonym “Mr Ek”. He had worked as an animal-feed salesman since 1996 but no longer held a licence. Also, police say he sourced the drug and feed laced with it for sale to farms.
After officers searched his premises on 11 June, he moved more than 8m baht out of his accounts, police said. They obtained a court warrant and arrested him at his home on 4 September. He has not cooperated with investigators, who are still tracing his finances and other members of the network. It is not known whether he has a lawyer.
He faces four charges under animal feed and drug laws, including using a banned substance in feed and selling salbutamol, a prescription drug, without authorisation. The most serious charge carries up to five years in prison.
Police did not say how much meat from the farms had already been sold, or what would happen to the 967 cattle.
Sorawut Nuengjamnong, secretary to the agriculture minister, said cattle had become the priority now that the use of the drug in pig farming had eased. Furthermore, beyond the health risk, he said, it damaged Thailand’s reputation as a meat exporter and cheated honest farmers.
The livestock department urged consumers to buy meat carrying its “Livestock OK” certification mark. Suspected use or sale of the drug can be reported to the Consumer Protection Police on 1135.
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