Beyond meth, the region also seized a record 27.4 tons of ketamine last year, a sharp spike of 167 per cent compared to 2021.
The UN agency pointed out that the illicit drug trafficking patterns in late 2022 and early this year are starting to look similar to that of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cambodia is also emerging as a key transit and production hub for the regional drug trade, the report said. Industrial-scale ketamine labs and facilities found across the country have “set off alarm bells” in the region, it added.
Despite crackdown efforts from governments, street prices of meth fell to record lows in 2022 across the region, indicating supply was uninterrupted, the report found.
“The most powerful regional trafficking networks are able to operate with a high degree of certainty they can and will not be stopped, and they are able to dictate the terms and conditions of the market as a result,” the UN anti-drug body said.