Myanmar shares a long, mountainous border with the Chinese province of Yunnan. Heroin exports are a significant mainstay of the Burmese economy, although economic data on the narcotics industry is sparse.Įastern Myanmar to Yunnan Province, China Its per capita income was US$220 per year in 1995. Since 1987, Myanmar has been classified by the United Nations as a least developed nation and remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Number 4 is manufactured principally to be injected, although it can be smoked as well. The purest heroin (Number 4) is a white crystalline powder of high grade and is the major export form of the drug. Opium grown in these extensively cultivated areas is refined into heroin in a network of small concealed (and relatively mobile) factories scattered throughout the hills. These areas are all border zones, with extensive land borders with northern Thailand, Laos and China’s Yunnan province. Burmese poppy cultivation has traditionally been limited to several remote mountainous regions in the country’s north and east the major areas include the Kokang hills of Shan state, the Eastern Shan hills, the Wa hill area and the Kachin state. At present, Myanmar accounts for almost 90 per cent of world’s heroin production. In 1988, when the political turmoil took place, the government lost control over a lot of its area, and subsequent battles between the rebels and the army made it a safe haven for the narcotics trade to flourish. As a result, the production of poppy in Myanmar has increased, making it the world’s largest producer of poppy. In the last 15 to 20 years, the production of poppy in Thailand has gone down because of the drastic eradication and crop substitution measures taken by the Thai government. These places are the centre of poppy cultivation area since the early nineteenth century. Myanmar falls in the area of the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, which geographically includes northern Thailand and northern and western Laos. Smuggling of contraband products to neighbouring countriesĪt present, Myanmar accounts for almost 90 per cent of world’s heroin production.Major sources of income for these groups are: This has led to a dependence on large amounts of money, which is generally earned through indulgence in organised crimes. Insurgency in Myanmar has existed since 1948, and the nature of the warfare in the region is modernised and the insurgent groups are using sophisticated weapons and battle gear. Since the beginning of the global war on terrorism, a lot of Western attention has come to the area, but lack of insight regarding the geopolitical realities of the area has led to countries picking sides, and this has made it more difficult for the policymakers to come up with a solution of the problem. The existence of ungoverned areas in the conflict zones and increasing demand for money to run the insurgency movement has led to the establishment of organised narcotics trade, with Myanmar being the production and processing hub of heroin. It has for long started affecting its neighbours, and with passing time, the impact is quite visible globally. The impact of the insurgency is no longer a local one. But in 1996, the ceasefire arrangement broke down and a major offensive against the Karen National Progressive Party (KNNP) was launched by the military leadership, resulting in the destabilisation of the region and eruption of large-scale insurgency and violence. In 1989, an agreement of ceasefire was signed between the insurgent groups and the Junta-led army, which stabilised the conflict areas and restored peace and calm in the conflict zones.
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