Myanmar burns seized drugs worth $446 mn amid rise in illicit trade

The authorities in Myanmar destroyed more than USD 446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day on Monday, police said.

The drug burn came as U.N. experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South and Southeast Asia.

Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world's second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers.

In the country's largest city, Yangon, a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth USD 207 million was incinerated. The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine and crystal meth, also known as ice.

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