• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • 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

Report: Burgeoning Market for Methamphetamine in Burma

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
June 2, 2017
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
The Rangoon government destroys more than US$19.7 million worth of seized drugs in June 2016. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy

The Rangoon government destroys more than US$19.7 million worth of seized drugs in June 2016. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy

6.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON – The methamphetamine market in Burma has remained high, along with other countries in East and Southeast Asia, as seizures of the drug rose steadily between 2006 and 2015, according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released Thursday.

The report, titled “The challenges of Synthetic Drugs in East and South-East Asia,” reviews trends and patterns of amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances from 2006 to 2015.

It noted annual seizures of methamphetamine increased more than fivefold in East and Southeast Asia during the period, while heroin seizures increased by only 75 percent.

RelatedPosts

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

June 9, 2025
1.4k
Thaksin Targets Myanmar’s Wa Army, Calls for No Mercy in Drug War

Thaksin Targets Myanmar’s Wa Army, Calls for No Mercy in Drug War

May 28, 2025
1.2k
Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

May 16, 2025
419

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam saw increasing use whereas other countries in the region saw either stable or decreasing use, the report said.

The report did not cover May 2016 to 2017, but Burmese authorities seized 4.6 million methamphetamine pills in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State in February and 400,000 methamphetamine pills in May of this year.

Authorities seized approximately 50 million methamphetamine tablets in 2015—including a seizure of 26.7 million methamphetamine tablets in Rangoon in July 2015 and another two million in September that year—which is larger than the sum seized between 2012 and 2014.

Last week alone, Burma’s anti-narcotics police in different parts of the country seized almost 300,000 stimulant tablets in eastern Shan, Karen and northern Arakan states, according to state media.

On Monday, an anti-narcotics squad, together with the local Border Guard Force seized 218,400 stimulant tablets and seven kilos of powdered stimulant drugs in Parkhar village in Tachileik in Shan State. Two days before, anti-narcotics police in Lashio seized 39,000 stimulant tablets from two vehicles on the Lashio-Mandalay Road near Nawnghkio on May 27.

On May 28, Karen state’s Hpa-an district anti-narcotics squad seized 28,000 tablets in a house in Htoogon village. Some 230 stimulants drugs known as “WY” were seized in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township on Sunday.

Heroin remains a drug of major concern in some Southeast Asian countries, including Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam, said the UNODC report, with Burma being one of the main sources of opium poppy cultivation and heroin manufacturing.

Methamphetamine pills are widely used in Burmese society, especially among young people in rural areas, said Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, a drug policy advocate in Burma.

“The users mostly smoke the drugs, believing that the methamphetamine can boost their capacity to work. It has been widely used not only in urban communities, but sadly spreading into villages and rural areas,” she said, explaining that more research needs to be done on the issue.

Part of the availability of the tablets and pills are due to trading of the substances for the raw opium, she added, as poppy producers are given the stimulants for about two-thirds of the cost for the opium, in cultivation areas such as in Shan and Kachin states.

Drug policy advocates stressed the need to create markets for other crops, to persuade opium farmers to stop. Ongoing conflicts in Burma’s northeast have hampered such campaigns, they noted.

Illicit drug trafficking and drug addiction “is a key problem and must be tackled as a national issue” said Daw San Wint Khaing, the Pa-O ethnic affairs minister from Mon State.

“The drug problem is affecting everyone in each state and region, regardless of their age, thus the drug problem must be regarded as a social issue as well as a security issue,” she told The Irrawaddy last week.

She supported the government’s drug eradication policy and highlighted the need to include it in future policy. She noted that one of the 37 principles signed at the recent Union Peace Conference was the prevention of drug trafficking.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CrimeDrugsOpium
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia
Burma

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia

by The Irrawaddy
May 22, 2024
37.2k

A new report by JFM spotlights the organized crime empire of junta-allied Karen warlord Saw Chit Thu and his family,...

Read moreDetails
Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 
Burma

Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
28.8k

US-sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo and two accomplices were caught at Changi airport with over half a million dollars.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai
Burma

Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
24k

The detention of the six brigadier generals is required under the military’s rules following last week’s surrender to the MNDAA,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted
Burma

Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted

by Maung Kavi
January 16, 2025
14.9k

Junta-affiliated militia overseeing notorious transnational crime hub issues ‘clean-up’ message to Chinese tycoons in Myawaddy.  

Read moreDetails
Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  
Burma

Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  

by The Irrawaddy
November 17, 2023
9.6k

Ming Xuechang, wanted by China over telecom and online scams in Kokang’s Laukkai that targeted Chinese citizens, shot himself while...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Ma Ba Tha members announce the formation of a new political party at a press conference in Rangoon. / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy

Ma Ba Tha’s New Political Party Denounces NLD Govt

A Kaman family in Htauk Kyan village of Rangoon’s Mingaladon Township. / Maung Naing / The Irrawaddy

Displaced and Forgotten, Kaman Search for a New Home

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

3 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

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

1 day ago
796

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 Reinforces Kyaukphyu as AA Nears China-Backed SEZ Hub

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chameleon Crony: How Myanmar’s ‘Baby’ Tycoon Thrived Across Four Eras

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

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

    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.