Fighting with counter-narcotics experience of one of the world centers of drug production was revealed
25.09.2012
The region, second in the World after Afghanistan on the volume of produced opium (Shan, the national district), is located in Myanmar at the junction of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. In two other countries the authorities took the region over the control, however since in Myanmar it’s still impossible, therefore authorities had to cooperate with criminals.
Here, in the region controlled by the drug dealers, the huge volumes of opium poppies are grown and the famous “white” heroin is widely produced. Using the rugged terrains, hundreds of laboratories producing synthetic drugs are also located over here. In accordance with UN statistics, last year there were around 610 tons of opiates, and more than 255 thousands of families involved.
Due to the large scale of the problem, the question of the fight against drug addiction was raised in Myanmar to the level of national security. In 1999, the government of the country worked out a plan, according to which the production and sale of drugs at the territory of Myanmar must be destroyed by 2014.
The government of Myanmar took strong measures to reduce the production and trafficking of drugs. Among them are traditional measures: the enforcement of the police control over the level of criminality, implementation of the informationally- prophylactic educational programs, the improvement of living standards in the regions, and the conduction of police raids along with neighboring countries.
However, the government´s arsenal of Myanmar has its own “weapon”: official authorities negotiate with rebel organizations and drug dealers in order to improve the drug situation in the country. Thus, in May, 2012, the head of the Recovery Board of the Shan State (the largest rebel organization in the region) promised to take an active part in the fight against drug mafia and train local citizens to grow other crops that will provide a stable income.
