Myanmar reports major heroin seizure

The Associated Press ,  Yangon   |  Thu, 07/16/2009 12:11 PM  |  World

Anti-drugs police in northeastern Myanmar seized 1,676 pounds (762 kilograms) of heroin near the Thai border, one of the largest ever seizures of the narcotic in the country, a state-run newspaper said Thursday.

The police also confiscated 340,000 methamphetamine tablets in the July 10 seizure made from a six-wheel truck at a checkpoint in the border town of Tachilek, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) northeast of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

The Myanmar Ahlin newspaper said the truck had traveled from Mong Hsat in southern Shan state, about 67 kilometers north of Tachilek. Authorities arrested three people on the truck, it said.

It was not clear why the drug bust was reported nearly a week after it took place. The newspaper said it was one of the biggest single seizures of heroin ever recorded in Myanmar.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, produced an estimated 410 tons of opium in 2008, enough to make around 40 tons of heroin, according to United Nations figures. The military-run country is the world's second largest producer after Afghanistan, which accounts for 90 percent of world output.

Myanmar is also a major source of methamphetamine. Much of it is trafficked to neighboring Thailand where abuse of the drug is rampant.

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