Spike In Boats Smuggling Meth Out Of Myanmar: UN

Bangkok, June 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jun, 2023 ) :Asian drug trafficking networks are increasingly using sea routes to smuggle methamphetamines out of Myanmar and ramping up ketamine production as they seek to expand their business, the UN said Friday.

Meth from coup-hit Myanmar's northeastern Shan state -- the regional epicentre for the drug's production -- is being smuggled by boats to avoid tighter patrols on land routes through China and Thailand, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in an annual report.

The border region between Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand has long been a hotbed of illegal drug production and trafficking, particularly of meth and opium.

Increased drug patrols in China's southwestern Yunnan province and along Thailand's border with Myanmar led to a drop in meth seizures by Chinese and Thai authorities in 2022 as drug traffickers turned to alternative maritime routes.