13-12-2023 (BANGKOK) Thai authorities have announced the seizure of 50 million methamphetamine tablets near the country’s border with Myanmar, marking a record-breaking haul of meth pills for Thailand and the second-largest in Asia.
The tablets were discovered in large sacks at the rear of a six-wheeled truck, which was intercepted by Thai police officers and soldiers at a security checkpoint in the western province of Kanchanaburi on Tuesday (Dec 12), according to police reports.
Following the interception, a man and a woman who were inside the truck were promptly arrested.
According to Jeremy Douglas, the Southeast Asia regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, this seizure ranks as the second-largest methamphetamine drug bust in Asia, trailing only behind a seizure of over 55 million meth tablets in Laos near the Golden Triangle region.
Douglas explained that Asian crime syndicates collaborate with ethnic armed militias to smuggle methamphetamine produced in Myanmar’s northern Shan state. These distribution networks extend their reach as far as Japan and New Zealand.
“The production is expanding, they’ve worked together before, and there is money to be made,” Douglas told Reuters, shedding light on the collaborative efforts of criminal groups and the profitability of the drug trade.
Despite the efforts of authorities to combat drug trafficking, Douglas noted that seizures like this one have only a minimal impact on the overall flow of illicit drugs in the region. Organized crime groups continue to increase their supply and lower the cost of methamphetamine, sustaining the demand.
The unrest in Myanmar following the coup in 2021 has also provided an opportunity for smugglers to expand their routes and operations, further complicating the fight against drug trafficking, Douglas added.
