Tag
Myanmar drug trade

Major Drug Busts in Thailand, Indonesia Point to Regional Trafficking Boom
By Sebastian Strangio
Asian governments seized a record 236 tons of methamphetamine last year, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

Indonesia Announces Record Drug Seizure Off Sumatra Coast
By Sebastian Strangio
Jakarta's anti-drug agency linked the 2-ton meth seizure to a syndicate in the Golden Triangle, which has seen a spike in narcotics production over the past decade.

Myanmar Remains World’s Leading Source of Illegal Opium Cultivation
By Sebastian Strangio
Despite a slight decrease in opium production, the UNODC warned that the conditions were in place for its continued expansion.

Myanmar Junta Admits ‘Challenges’ in Fighting Opium Cultivation, Meth Production
By Sebastian Strangio
The military says it stepping up its fight against narcotics, without reckoning with its own role in the recent boom in production.

Asian Synthetic Drug Production Continued to Grow in 2023, UN Says
By Sebastian Strangio
Last year saw East and Southeast Asian governments seize 190 tons of methamphetamine, the largest amount ever recorded in a single year.

Patrick Winn on the Narco-Economy of Myanmar’s Wa State
By Sebastian Strangio
“Without heroin and meth, the state probably wouldn’t exist, and the Wa would be one more indigenous people preyed upon by Myanmar’s military.”

Asian Synthetic Drug Trade Continues to Surge, UN Says
By Sebastian Strangio
Regional methamphetamine seizures dropped slightly in 2022, according to the U.N., but other indicators suggest that the supply "has remained very high or unchanged."

Thailand Tightens Laws on Meth Possession Amid Regional Drug Boom
By Sebastian Strangio
In recent years, Myanmar-based drug syndicates have driven a regional boom in the production of amphetamine-style stimulants.

Opium Cultivation Jumps in Myanmar Amid Post-Coup Crisis, UN Says
By Sebastian Strangio
As the formal economy has atrophied, black markets and illicit trades have expanded their reach.

Ice and Instability: Illicit Financial Flows Along Thailand’s Borders
By Nickii Wantakan Arcado
The country’s law enforcement operations have done little to shrink the narcotics trade amid a pandemic-related supply glut and instability in Myanmar.

Lao Authorities Seize Another Huge Shipment of Methamphetamine
By Sebastian Strangio
The country's four largest meth seizures on record have come over the past 15 months – striking evidence of the scale of the recent Mekong drug production boom.

1B Meth Pills: East, Southeast Asia Drug Industry Hits Ominous Peak
By Grant Peck
The U.N. drug agency claims that last year's seizures of methamphetamine were seven times higher than the amount seized 10 years ago.
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