Authorities in Myanmar burned more than $446 million worth of illegal drugs on Monday to mark the United Nations’ (UN) International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Drugs destroyed included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine, meth, and more. according to AP. Yangon city authorities reportedly incinerated a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth $207 million. Authorities also set fire to drugs in two other cities, Mandalay and Taunggyi, which are close to the country’s drug production and distribution hubs, according to the Associated Press.
A pile of seized illegal methamphetamine is seen burning during a demolition ceremony to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Yangon on June 26, 2023. (Sia Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)
A pile of seized illegal drugs is seen burning during a demolition ceremony to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking in Yangon on June 26, 2023. (Sia Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials in the country have seized and burned $642 million worth of illegal drugs in 2022, according to the media.
Myanmar is mired in a violent political conflict between pro-democracy groups and a military junta that took power in 2021, and is grappling with a surge in drug production, according to the Associated Press.Recent UN report A study of opium poppy cultivation in Southeast Asian countries found that during the 2022 season, “the cultivated area increased by 33% to 40,100 hectares and the potential yield increased by 2% to 88% to 790 tons.” It has been shown. By contrast, opium cultivation has been on a downward trend for six years as of 2020, according to the report. (Related: Study: New Mexico has America’s biggest drug problem)
A pile of seized illegal drugs is seen burning during a demolition ceremony to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking in Yangon on June 26, 2023. (Sia Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)
Myanmar’s opium economy was worth between $660 million and $2 billion in 2022, despite high inflation and declining purchasing power. investigation To read. The combination of the COVID-19-related economic crisis and the military occupation could have pushed more rural households into mass-growing opium, reversing pre-COVID-19 declines, according to the report. It is said that there is a sexuality.
Most of the illegal drugs smuggled out of Myanmar go to other Southeast Asian countries and China, according to the Associated Press.
