MANDALAY — A sizeable amount of drugs including 100,000 methamphetamine tablets was found in two urban wards in Sagaing Division’s Monywa Township on Monday, believed to be the largest-ever drug seizure in the division, according to the Monywa Police Force.
“It was the most we’ve ever confiscated in Sagaing Division. The drug squad is still assessing the value of the seized drugs,” police lieutenant Ye Aung of the Monywa Police Station told The Irrawaddy.
Wrapped soap containers were discovered on Monday at noon outside a monastery in Htan Taw Ward of Monywa Township. Further investigation led to the seizure of 1,071 soap containers, each containing 10 grams of what is believed to be heroin as well as 100,000 methamphetamine tablets from eight different locations in Htan Taw and Nanda Wun wards, according to the police.
The government sets the value of heroine at 20 million kyats per kilogram.
“We’ll first evaluate the value of the seizure and then search for the criminals,” said police lieutenant Ye Aung.
The drug squad speculated that the drugs came from Shan State and were to be distributed to drug dealers who would sell to users working the oil fields in Monywa. But the carriers abandoned them for some reason, said the police lieutenant.
Daw Khin Pa Pa, the administrator of Htan Taw ward, told The Irrawaddy that he had never seen such a large seizure.
Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
