Myanmar burns $446 million worth of seized drugs as illicit trade booms in Southeast Asia

BANGKOK (AP) — The authorities in Myanmar have destroyed more than $446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the county to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day. The drug burn on Monday came as U.N. experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South and Southeast Asia. Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world’s second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers.