Police in Laos seized a truck loaded with 55 million methamphetamine tablets and more than 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth in the biggest drug bust in South or East Asia, according to a United Nations official. The drugs were concealed in beer crates and the truck was intercepted in Bokeo, bordering Thailand and Myanmar, in the ‘Golden Triangle’ region, which is infamously known for being the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s.

Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told the BBC it was “by far the largest seizure in the history of East and Southeast Asia”. Police recently seized a combined 16 million amphetamine tablets in two separate operations in the same area within a week.

Douglas attributed the significant increase in Golden Triangle drug supply in recent months due to unrest in Myanmar’s Shan state, which borders China, Laos and Thailand, .

“Neighbours and the wider region are getting absolutely flooded with methamphetamine, and there is little doubt it is connected to the governance situation in Shan,” he said.

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The Lao Brewery Company issued a statement, saying it was deeply disappointed that “our crates have been abused as a cover for illegal activities.” It assured “immediate illegal action towards anyone misusing our company assets.”

According to data from the UNODC, an estimated 405 metric tons of opium were produced in Myanmar in 2020, representing less than half of the 870 mt estimate of 2013. The area under opium poppy cultivation also declined from 33,100 hectares in 2019 to 29,500 hectares.

China has tightened restrictions along Myanmar owing to the unrest in Shan state after February’s coup by the Burmese military. The new border restrictions have forced Myanmar drug gangs to change trafficking routes amid an increase in supply of illicit drugs out of Myanmar, according to BBC.