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Myanmar's Descent into Chaos to Further Fuel Mekong Drug Trade: UN

Vijitra Duangdee

   BANGKOK - The chaos in Myanmar could see a surge in meth production
   across the' Golden Triangle', the UnitedNation's organized crime agency
   said Tuesday, as ethnic militias seek quick cash to firm up their
   positions in lawless borderlands whose fragile equilibrium has been
   disrupted by the coup.

   Drug lords entwined with rebel groups in Myanmar's ungovernableborder
   zonewith Laos, Thailand and China - the notorious Golden Triangle -
   have been pumping record amounts of methamphetamine across Southeast
   Asia.

   Theychurn outprecursor chemicals andyaba'crazy medicine'pills'¯andthe
   more addictive - and expensive - crystal meth to a regional market
   worth up to an estimated $70 billion a year.'¯

   The February 1 coup in Myanmar has stoked instability in border regions
   where complex alliancesamongrebel groups, drug lords and affiliates of
   Myanmar's army havekept an uneasy order, where skirmishes can
   besmoothedover by a shared interest in keeping thenarcomoney flowing.

   But those alliances have been putin jeopardy after Myanmar's army -
   known as the Tatmadaw - unexpectedly seized power, tipping the country
   into violent instability and flatlining the economy as pro-democracy
   protests defy a violent crackdown across the country.'¯

   "The economy in Myanmar is grinding to a halt, we now see the past week
   several arms groups making a push to strengthen their position, so
   fundamentally they need money," Jeremy Douglas of the UNOCD told VOA
   news.

   "Either they're involved (in) or are taxing the drug trade'¦ so what
   we're looking at is the fastest way to make big money is the drug
   trade."

   Instability could push the rebel groups who control the drug labs
   intoincreasingproduction.
   This screengrab provided via AFPTV and taken from a broadcast by
   Myitkyina News Journal on March 27, 2021 shows security forces crack
   down protesters during a demonstration against the military coup in
   Myitkyina in Myanmar's Kachin state.

   Already Myanmar's army has launched airstrikes against ethnic majority
   areas bordering Thailand for the first time in many years, spurring
   thousands of Karen refugees to flee towards the frontier.
   Route Laos

   The drug trade of the Golden Triangle has morphed over the last two
   decades from heroin and opium to focus on methamphetamine.

   It relies on virtually open borders to reach Southeast Asia's vast
   markets - and as far as Australia and New Zealand.

   One of the topnetworks, the'SamGor,' was dealt ablow'¯whenitsalleged
   leaderTseChi Lop was arrested in Amsterdam on a warrant from Australian
   police.'¯One of his top lieutenants,Hong Kong citizen Lee ChungChak,was
   arrested in October last year on an exclusive Bangkok street.

   But the meth trade pivots on the ready availability of precursor
   chemicals - including P2P andpseudoephedrine. Thecommonly used
   chemicals come from factories in China, India,Thailandand Vietnam. They
   are hard to separate from their legitimate use in medicine and
   agriculture and are easily disguised as different compounds and
   smuggled across borders marshaled by low-paid law enforcement.'¯

   Last year Laos seizedmore than70 tons of precursors as the drug gangs
   use the country as a run through from Vietnam to the drug labs of
   Myanmar, a police source in the Communist-run countrywhorequested
   anonymity to discuss the matter,told VOA news.

   The'¯hugehauls were blocked inBokeoprovince, the border to Myanmar's
   Shan State, where drug labs produce meth and then send it back hidden
   in tea packets destined for Thailand, Malaysia and beyond.

   "It's impossible to estimate how much meth these chemicals could have
   made," the police source said.

   Thai drug officials fear further insecurity in Myanmar will play out
   into more drugs heading south.

   "The more serious the situation and the more money is needed... the
   production capacity always needs to match the demand and Thailand will
   certainly be caught in any overflow of drugs,"
   saidSuriyaSinghakamonDeputy Secretary General of the Office of
   Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).'¯

   In a region already awash with labs,precursorsand drug networks skilled
   in thelogisticsof moving tons of product to the market, Myanmar's
   fast-forwarded descent into instability is a cause of concern.

   "We don't know what's about to happen, but we all know it's not going
   to be good," says Douglas of the UNODC.We don't know how many drugs are
   coming, but they're going come."'¯

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