Police in Laos made a major narcotics bust Wednesday in one of the world’s most prominent drug-production corridors, resulting in what the United Nations said was the largest-ever single seizure of illegal methamphetamine in Asia.
The U.N. body estimated that the drugs, if sold to customers in the neighboring Thailand, would be worth up to nearly $190 million. Crystal meth, which is easier to transport, has a much higher street value if exported illicitly to wealthier countries like Australia. Based on current prices, the crystal meth alone could fetch some $200 million there.
Wednesday’s seizure equated to roughly three times the total number of meth tablets and a third of all crystal meth police found in Laos last year.
Douglas said that Bokeo law enforcement have been “on heightened alert” after authorities seized some 16 million meth tablets in two recent operations in the region.
The drugs were concealed in crates branded with Lao Brewery logos. The beer producer, which is partly owned by the Laotian state, said in a statement that the truck was not registered to the company or its affiliates. The crates were “abused as a cover for illegal activities,” it said.
Bokeo, near the Laotian border with Myanmar and Thailand, is at the heart of the Golden Triangle, a lush, remote region that has for decades served as a global gateway for illicit drug production and trafficking.
As far back as 1993, the Golden Triangle supplied roughly 60 percent of the heroin that reached the United States. In the past decade, the region — which is frequently described as “lawless” — has also emerged as one of the world’s biggest producers of synthetic drugs, including meth.
Drug smugglers have also used China, whose southernmost border is less than 50 miles from Bokeo, as a trafficking route. But Beijing has adopted a nationwide zero-tolerance policy toward the coronavirus pandemic, which includes significantly clamping down on border crossings. Drugs are now being diverted, leading to the uptick in meth seizures elsewhere in the region.
International observers are particularly concerned about Shan state in northern Myanmar, where a military coup earlier this year weakened the national government’s reach in a region where fighting with armed ethnic groups has been intense. There is widespread heroin use in the area, and traffickers wield significant influence. Yangon has tolerated drug smuggling by ethnic groups allied with the national army, experts say.
“The security and governance breakdown in Shan has accelerated an already massive drug economy with direct [neighbors] like Thailand and Laos being hit hardest,” Douglas said in an email. “But the spillover is cascading across [the] region.”
It is not clear what would happen to the truck driver detained in the drug bust. Laos retains the death penalty for drug trafficking and production, but is not believed to have executed anyone in decades.
