YANGON: Myanmar authorities said they torched more than half a billion dollars worth of narcotics on Weekend (Jun 26) as part of eradication efforts with regard to World Drug Day, as the UN warns that production associated with methamphetamine in the region is definitely hitting record amounts.
Almost two tonnes of heroin and more than 630 million “yaba” meth pills proceeded to go up in smoke cigarettes at ceremonies in Myanmar’s commercial centre of Yangon, the central city of Mandalay and Shan state in the north, government bodies said.
But some analysts cautioned that this US$642 million bonfires are part of the long-running game associated with smoke and mirrors played by a junta government not serious about tackling the problem.
The televised burnings represent a “decade-long delusion” about Myanmar’s multibillion-dollar drug industry, independent analyst Brian Mathieson told AFP.
“The army pretends to get seriously interested in drug eradication and the West pretends to think them, ” he or she said.
There is “active military complicity in protecting large-scale drug production to make sure stability in conflict zones”, Mathieson added.
This includes Shan condition – Southeast Asia’s primary source of meth according to the United Nations.
The state is home to militias and has seen fairly little violence in opposition to the military considering that Myanmar’s generals grabbed power in a coup last year.
On the ceremony in Yangon, bundles of meth wrapped in innocuous-looking Chinese tea packaging sat alongside bricks of cannabis and also bags of ketamine and MDMA.
A series of small explosions sent the contraband up in fire flames before thick plumes of black smoke cigarettes billowed into the skies.
Firefighters transferred in for safety and police officers took selfies against the backdrop from the blaze while Burmese pop music blared through speakers.
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