In a significant counter-narcotics operation, Myanmar’s military government has reported the largest drug seizure in the nation’s history. State media confirmed on Thursday that security forces conducted extensive raids from January 8-12 targeting dual threats: drug production facilities and online scam centers in northern Shan state.
The operation focused on Mongyai township, approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Mandalay, where authorities dismantled three major drug manufacturing facilities located within kilometers of each other. Home Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung disclosed that these sites produced heroin, methamphetamine, and crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’).
Photographic evidence released by the military revealed sophisticated production setups featuring dozens of blue plastic barrels filled with powdery substances, industrial gas cylinders, large mixing vats, and complex glass flask systems connected by tubing in makeshift structures.
Military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun characterized these facilities as potentially the country’s primary drug-production hubs, with trafficking routes extending to neighboring Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia through conflict areas in western, northwestern, and southeastern Myanmar.
The context of Myanmar’s escalating civil war, which intensified following the 2021 military takeover, has created conditions that facilitate both drug production and distribution. Ethnic armed groups and local resistance forces have long been accused of using drug revenues to fund their operations, though the Shan State Progress Party specifically denied involvement in the targeted regions.
According to official statistics, Myanmar authorities have seized drugs valued at approximately $2.8 billion over the past five years, destroyed over 10,000 hectares of opium poppy fields, and made more than 43,900 drug-related arrests.
This development occurs against the backdrop of a December UN report indicating opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has reached its highest level in a decade, with the country maintaining its status as the world’s largest methamphetamine producer.