By NNN-Bernama,
Yangon : The Myanmar authorities have seized some 374,000 WY-brand stimulant tablets in the border town of Tachilek, Shan State-East of the country, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control Thursday.
The seizures from eight drug traffickers were made by the local security forces last weekend, the sources said, adding that the traffickers have been arrested, reported China’s Xinhua news agency.
On Sept 11, the local authorities had seized a total of 2.8 million stimulant tablets in the same border town in two separated cases, when a Hilux car heading towards Tachilek from Monghsat was intercepted and searched at the Lwedawkham check point and a house in Tachilek’s Haungleik village-tract were raided respectively, according to earlier official report.
Some bullets and grenades as well as some thousands of neighboring currency notes were also confiscated in connection with the cases, it said, adding that a total of six persons in connection with the two cases have been under investigation.
A monthly statistics show that in August this year, Myanmar exposed 230 drug-related cases and punished 355 people, including 57 women.
During the month, the authorities seized 60.37 kilograms (kg) opium, 63.84 kg heroin, 7.77 kg marijuana, 3.2 million stimulant tablets, over 1 tonne caffeine as well as 10 kg of Ice.
Other figures indicate that during this year’s poppy cultivation season, 4,086 hectares of poppy plantations in the country have so far been destroyed.
These poppy plantations were wiped out in a number of areas in Shan state such as Lashio, Hsenwi, Mongyan, Namtu, Mongton, Namhkam, Kutkai, Phekhon, Loilem and Pinlaung and Pekhon.
As some newly developed drugs such as ATS tablets, Ketamine, ICE, Ectasy have come into existence, momentum of Myanmar’s anti- drug efforts are being raised, the authorities said.
Myanmar has been implementing a 15-year plan (1999-2014) to totally eradicate poppy in three phases, each running for five years, and it has now entered into the final five-year phase of the plan (2009-2014).