The authorities in Myanmar have destroyed more than $446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the county to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day.
destroyed more than $446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day on Monday, police said.
Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world’s second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers.
Authorities also destroyed drugs in the central city of Mandalay and in Taunggyi, the capital of eastern Shan state, both closer to the main drug production and distribution areas.Experts have warned that violent political unrest in Myanmar following the military takeover two years ago — which is now akin to a civil war between the military government and its pro-democracy opponents — has caused an increase in drug production.
Estimates of opium production were 400 metric tons in 2020, rising slightly in 2021, and then spiking in 2022 to an estimated 790 metric tons , according to the report.
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