Police Seize 450 Kilos of Cocaine From Shipping Containers
By Htun Htun 24 February 2017
RANGOON — Police seized 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of cocaine from a warehouse in Rangoon’s Shwepyithar Industrial Zone on Thursday, according to the state-run newspaper Myanma Alinn.
The company that operates the warehouse reported the cocaine to police. The company discovered seven sport bags filled with the drug while unloading imported sugar from a shipping container, the article said. Myanma Alinn did not identify the name of the company involved.
“I heard that cocaine was seized from the industrial zone, but I still don’t know the name of the company,” said lawmaker U Yan Aung Min, who represents Shwepyithar Township in the Rangoon divisional parliament.
On Feb. 16, police made another seizure of 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of cocaine. Those drugs were smuggled in a similar way, hidden under bags of sugar imported by a company through the Shwepyithar Industrial Zone, according to the news report.
The total amount of cocaine seized by police, 450 kilograms (992 pounds), would be valued around 21 billion kyats (US$15.3 million) at market prices, the report said.
The first container of cocaine originated in Brazil and traveled through Singapore before reaching Burma, local media reported. Both containers were imported through the Myanmar Industrial Port.
On Jan. 24, police also seized smuggled logs from a container in the Myanmar Industrial Port. Further investigation led the police to nab more than 1,100 tons of smuggled teak and padauk wood from factories in the Shwepyithar and Hlaing Tharyar industrial zones, according to the Forest Department.
