Local officials have reported that , a small Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left without any monks after they were all dismissed for failing drug tests.
An official told AFP that four monks, including the abbot, tested positive for methamphetamine in the northern province of Phetchabun.
According to Boonlert Thintapthai, the monks were then sent to a health clinic for drug rehabilitation.
The raid coincides with a national campaign to combat drug trafficking.
The monks were reportedly removed from the temple on Monday after police administered urine tests, which all four men failed. Officials did not specify what drew police attention to the temple.
Mr Thintapthai told AFP that the “temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making”.
Merit-making is an important Buddhist practice where worshippers gain a protective force through good deeds – in this case by giving food to monks.
But Mr Thintapthai said that regional officials had sought the assistance of the local monastic chief, who had promised to assign some new monks to the temple in the Bung Sam Phan district in a bid to address the concerns of worshippers.
In recent years, methamphetamine has become a major issue in Thailand, with seizures of the drug reaching an all time high in 2021, according to the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime.
The country is a major transit point for methamphetamine. The drugs flood into the country from Myanmar – the world’s biggest producer of methamphetamine – via Laos.
The pills are then sold on the streets with a value of around 50 Baht (£0.47).
Last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a clampdown on drugs after a former police officer who had been dismissed from the force for methamphetamine possession killed 37 people during a shooting at a nursery.