Myanmar police successfully pulled-off its three-month drug bust operation focused at Lwe Kham village where 33 suspects were arrested.
The authorities seized 200 million methamphetamine tablets, more than 500 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 163,000 liters of precursor chemicals which are being used to produce illicit drugs.
It is now considered as “Asia’s biggest drug bust operation” in decades.
Jeremy Douglas, regional coordinater of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), applauded the scale of the seizure which he said was “truly off the chart.”
They also recovered nearly 3,750 liters (990 gallons) of liquid methylfentanyl, which is used in manufacturing of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The region of Myanmar also suffers from the opioid crisis just like the United States. The methamphetamine boom in the market is considered to be one of the world’s biggest problems.
Major syndicates from across the globe decided to halt their production of plant-based drugs like heroin, which need space and are dependent on weather. The criminals switched to creating cheaper and easy-to-make synthetic drugs like methamphetamine.
Their illegal operation has reached Golden Triangle, the border area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. It is also known for being the “world’s biggest heroin-producing region.”
