Myanmar says seized drugs worth half a billion dollars torched

Workers moving a structure in front of a burning pile of seized illegal drugs during a destruction ceremony to mark the United Nations' "International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking" in Yangon on June 26, 2022. - AFP

YANGON, June 26, 2022 (AFP): Myanmar authorities said they torched more than half a billion dollars worth of narcotics on Sunday as part of eradication efforts for World Drug Day, as the UN warns that production of methamphetamine in the region is hitting record levels.

Almost two tonnes of heroin and more than 630 million "yaba" meth pills went up in smoke at ceremonies in Myanmar's commercial hub of Yangon, the central city of Mandalay and Shan state in the north, authorities said.