Production of methamphetamine increased in Myanmar last year and exporters of crystal methamphetamine are starting to use direct sea routes rather than going through neighbouring countries, according to a recent UNODC report.

According to the report, Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia, Latest Developments and Challenges, in 2022 seizures of methamphetamine increased in Myanmar. It says that the centre of methamphetamine production is Shan State.

According to UNODC analysis, the number of methamphetamine tablets produced by small armed groups and militias in Shan State increased by 26 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021. The previous year it had already increased by 13 per cent.

The report also noted a difference in trafficking patterns in 2022, compared to previous years.

The main markets for methamphetamine pills are China, Lao PDR, and Thailand, all countries adjacent to Shan State, so extensive smuggling networks are not necessary to export the pills.

Conversely, the main market for crystal methamphetamine is abroad. Before, smugglers used routes through neighbouring countries such as Thailand, to export crystal methamphetamine to an international market. In previous years crystal methamphetamine coming from Myanmar was seized in western Thailand, but in 2022 seizures in western Thailand were 9.7 tons, less than half the 22.1 tons seized in 2021 and the lowest annual seizure since 2017.

UNODC says that this drop in seizures is because smugglers are now directly exporting crystal methamphetamine from Myanmar ports to international markets.

The report says that “in 2022 organized crime groups in Myanmar increasingly targeted the southern areas of Myanmar for the transportation of large quantities of crystal methamphetamine.”

Despite this diversification of routes, the report warns that “organised crime groups continued to attempt to traffic large shipments of crystal methamphetamine from Shan into Thailand through various routes.