• Burmese
Saturday, June 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
8 °c
Helsinki
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Drug Trade a ‘Significant Threat’ to Region: Mekong Nations

Saw Yan Naing by Saw Yan Naing
May 10, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Drug Trade a ‘Significant Threat’ to Region: Mekong Nations

A policeman holds poppy plants after a field was destroyed above the village of Tar-Pu

4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Burma and five other countries of the Mekong subregion have signed an agreement with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to cooperate in the transnational war on drugs, with the signatories calling narcotics a “significant threat” to the region.

The agreement was signed after a meeting in Burma’s capital Naypyidaw on Thursday, which was attended by ministers and representatives from the UNODC, China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, according to a UNODC statement on Friday.

The drug trade in the region is sourced largely from Burma, especially in eastern Shan State. Ethnic Wa rebels and the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma’s largest armed rebel militia, are accused of being the biggest drug producer in Burma.

RelatedPosts

Pills Pour Over Border from India to Fuel Burma’s Narcotics Boom

Pills Pour Over Border from India to Fuel Burma’s Narcotics Boom

August 9, 2016
3.8k
Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders

Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders

August 5, 2016
6.2k
Lawmakers Blame Burma’s Drug Problem on Warlord-Govt Nexus

Lawmakers Blame Burma’s Drug Problem on Warlord-Govt Nexus

August 4, 2016
4.5k

The statement said that the Memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Naypyidaw Declaration, was signed in the presence of all heads of the delegation on behalf of all representatives by Burma Minister of Home Affairs Lt-Gen Ko Ko and John Sandage, the UNODC’s director of treaty affairs.

“This agreement marks the continued commitment of the six MoU countries—Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam—in supporting drug control in the region, and the celebration of 20 years of partnership and collaboration,” Ko Ko said at the signing ceremony.

“The MoU member states reaffirm our commitment and assure the international community of our efforts to eliminate the drug problem in our region,” he added.

Sandage of the UNODC also urged greater cooperation among the signatories.

“Major challenges persist: The resurgence of opium poppy cultivation, the dramatic spread of amphetamine-type stimulants [ATS], the influx of drugs new to the region and increased levels of addiction,” Sandage said.

“UNODC looks forward to working with the MoU states to implement plans that help us better understand the threat and its challenges, build technical capacity, and lead to greater cooperation across borders and among agencies.”

Sandage said key areas of success in the past 20 years included a reduction of poppy cultivation in Southeast Asia, the establishment of Border Liaison Offices (BLOs), precursor chemical control, computer-based training for front-line officers, and improved understanding of drug use prevention and dependency treatment.

The representatives also called the rapid increase in consumption and production of narcotics a “threat” to Southeast Asia that undermines regional development. They agreed to strengthen cross-border cooperation in law enforcement, reducing demand and alternative development.

The director of Thailand’s Narcotics Law Enforcement Bureau in Bangkok said Burma is the region’s drug production hub and the main producers are ethnic Wa and Kokang armed groups based in Shan State. The director, who asked to be identified only as Siripong, said ethnic Wa and Kokang also operate heroin refineries and methamphetamine laboratories in Shan State.

The UNODC announced in April that organized crime in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and the illicit drug and wildlife trades, is a $90 billion a year business—twice the GDP of Burma.

Of that total, $15 billion worth of methamphetamine within the region is manufactured in eastern and northeastern Burma, the UNODC report said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Drug & Crime
Saw Yan Naing

Saw Yan Naing

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Video Journalist Recounts a Death Amid the Chaos
Burma

Video Journalist Recounts a Death Amid the Chaos

by Myat Su Mon
September 27, 2013
9.5k

Yan Naing, a video journalist at the Democratic Voice of Burma tells of capturing the shooting of Kenji Nagai during...

Read moreDetails
Wa Tycoon’s Jade Ties Exposed in New Report
Burma

Wa Tycoon’s Jade Ties Exposed in New Report

by Seamus Martov
December 4, 2015
9.1k

A new report by Global Witness exposes links between the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Burma’s notoriously shady jade...

Read moreDetails
Experts Reject Claims of ‘Rohingya Mujahideen’ Insurgency
Burma

Experts Reject Claims of ‘Rohingya Mujahideen’ Insurgency

by Paul Vrieze
July 15, 2013
21.6k

Security experts say it is possible that some militant Rohingyas have contacted Indonesian hardline Muslim groups, but they dismiss reports...

Read moreDetails
Activists Urge Harsher Penalty for Child Rape Case in Burma
Burma

Activists Urge Harsher Penalty for Child Rape Case in Burma

by The Irrawaddy
August 6, 2013
7.6k

A restaurant owner in Rangoon is sentenced to eight years in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl, the victim’s lawyer...

Read moreDetails
Book Details Coming Struggle to Kick Burma’s Drug Habit
Burma

Book Details Coming Struggle to Kick Burma’s Drug Habit

by Bertil Lintner
March 24, 2016
5.2k

Burma’s struggle to curb the illicit narcotics trade across its border with China and other neighbors is among the major...

Read moreDetails
At the Khun Sa Museum
Photo

At the Khun Sa Museum, the House that Drugs Built

by Saw Yan Naing
October 1, 2015
1.3k

The old military camp of the Mong Tai Army is now a museum celebrating the life of its commander, a...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Cyclone Approaches West Burma

Cyclone Approaches West Burma, Raising Alarm for IDPs

Burma Business Roundup (Saturday, May 11)

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

1 week ago
2.5k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
934

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.