26-6-2023 (YANGON) Myanmar junta authorities set ablaze illicit drugs worth nearly half a billion dollars on Monday, but acknowledged their failure to halt the alarming rise in drug production and trafficking.
In the commercial hub of Yangon, piles of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and opium were set on fire, creating towering infernos, as part of the annual spectacle commemorating the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, as witnessed by AFP reporters. Televised burnings also took place in other parts of the country, resulting in the destruction of approximately $446 million worth of narcotics, according to junta officials.
However, in a rare admission, Soe Htut, the head of Myanmar’s Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, conceded that their efforts to combat the multibillion-dollar drug trade had proven ineffective. “Even though numerous drug abusers, producers, traffickers, and cartels have been arrested and prosecuted, the production and trafficking of drugs have not declined at all,” Htut stated in an interview with the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The “Golden Triangle” border region, encompassing Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, has long been a notorious hub for the illicit production and trafficking of drugs, particularly methamphetamine and opium. Myanmar’s Shan state, known as Southeast Asia’s primary source of meth according to the UN, is home to various ethnic rebel groups and militias aligned with the country’s army.
Experts argue that the military, which seized power and ousted the elected government in 2021, lacks genuine determination to eradicate the lucrative drug trade. Independent analyst David Mathieson told AFP, “The army is actually the ultimate protection cartel of the trade, and have been for many years.”
This burning of narcotics comes as the United Nations reported record seizures of crystal meth in Myanmar last year and highlighted a revival of opium poppy farming amidst the chaos triggered by the coup. The UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that over 23 tons of crystal meth were seized in Myanmar in 2022. The report also noted falling or record-low wholesale and street prices of meth across Southeast Asia. The most powerful regional trafficking networks operate with confidence, knowing they will not be halted, the UN stated.
The UN further highlighted a significant surge in opium poppy production in Myanmar since the coup, driven by political and economic turmoil that compelled farmers to turn to cultivating the crop. Currently, the area of land dedicated to opium poppy cultivation measures just over 40,000 hectares, equivalent to about half the size of New York City, according to the UN’s findings in January.
