Asia synthetic drug trade expands, UN says

[June 02, 2023]  BANGKOK (Reuters) - Trafficking of synthetic drugs in East and Southeast Asia is surging, with new smuggling routes for methamphetamine emerging and ketamine production expanding, the United Nations said on Friday.

High volumes of methamphetamine continue to be produced in Shan State, Myanmar and trafficked from there through Thailand and Laos as well as new routes through central Myanmar, the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report.

Seized crystal methamphetamine hidden inside tea bags are seen during a news conference at the Office of the Narcotics Control Board in Bangkok, Thailand, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Napat Wesshasartar

"Traffickers have continued to ship large volumes through Laos and northern Thailand," said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"At the same time they have pushed significant supply through central Myanmar to the Andaman Sea where it seems few were looking," he said.

Overall, authorities in Asia have seized nearly 151 tons of methamphetamine in 2022, a decline from 171.5 tonnes in 2021 partly due to the new routes, according to the report.

Organized crime groups maintained a supply-driven market expansion strategy, pushing volumes and lowering cost of the drug.

Wholesale prices of crystal methamphetamine continues to decrease in East and Southeast Asia, with both Thailand and Laos record low wholesale prices of $1,000 per kg in the border provinces of Thailand, the report said.

Authorities in the region have also seized a record 27.4 tons of ketamine in 2022, an increase of 167 percent from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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