Source: 2002
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
With Afghanistan's re-emergence as the world's largest producer of illicit opium, Burma fell to second place in 2002. Burma remains the primary source of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in Asia, producing hundreds of millions of tablets annually. Although still a major producer of illicit opium, Burma's overall production in 2002 declined substantially for the sixth straight year. According to the joint U.S./Burma opium yield survey, opium production in Burma totaled no more than 630 metric tons in 2002, down more than 26 percent from a year earlier, and less than one-quarter of the 2,560 metric tons produced in Burma in 1996. Burma's opium is grown predominantly in Shan State, in areas controlled by former insurgent groups. Since the mid-1990s, however, the government has elicited "opium-free" pledges from each group and, as these pledges have come due, has stepped up law enforcement activities in areas controlled by these groups. However the date for the Wa to end opium production and trafficking is 2005, and the government has done little to curb them. Major Wa traffickers continue to operate with apparent impunity, and UWSA involvement in methamphetamine production and trafficking remains a serious concern. The USG once again found that Burma failed demonstrably to meet its international counternarcotics obligations .
Over the past several years, the Burmese government has significantly extended its counternarcotics cooperation with other states. In 2001, it signed counternarcotics MOUs with both China and Thailand, and, in both 2001 and 2002, joined with China in joint operations in the northern and eastern Shan State which resulted in the destruction of several major drug trafficking rings, including one group which the Chinese called one of the largest "armed drug smuggling groups in the Golden Triangle area." Cooperation with Thailand was interrupted by border tensions during the summer of 2002, but began to revive toward year's end as tensions eased.
In 2002, Burma also responded to rising international concerns regarding the quality of its anti-money laundering regime by enacting a powerful new money-laundering law that criminalizes money laundering in connection with virtually every type of major criminal activity. The first investigations under this law began in July, resulting in the seizure of several hundred thousand dollars in assets.
Burma is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Burma is the world's second largest producer of illicit opium.. A sustained drought in opium producing areas, and limited eradication efforts, have combined to depress cultivation levels and yield over the past several years. According to the joint U.S./Burma opium yield survey, the total land area under poppy cultivation in Burma was 77,000 hectares in 2002, a 26 percent decrease from the 105,000 hectares under cultivation in 2001. Estimated opium production in Burma totaled approximately 630 metric tons in 2002, a 27 percent decrease from 865 metric tons in 2001, and less than a quarter of the 2,560 metric tons produced in Burma in 1996. In 2002, yields remained low (approximately 8 kilograms/hectare), or barely half the level recorded in 1996.
Burma also plays a major role in the regional traffic in amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). Drug gangs based in the Burma/China and Burma/Thailand border areas annually produce several hundred million methamphetamine tablets for markets in Thailand, China, and other Southeast Asian states on the basis of precursors imported from neighboring states. Burma itself does not have a chemical industry and does not produce any of the precursors for methamphetamine or other artificial drugs. Neither is there any significant market in Burma for ATS. In 2002, ATS seizures declined from previous modest levels of approximately 10 million tablets. Aside from these seizures and the closing of a few production labs, the government did not take significant steps to stop ATS production and trafficking.
Opium, heroin, and ATS are produced predominantly in Shan State, in areas controlled by former insurgent groups. Starting in 1989, the Burmese government negotiated a series of cease-fire agreements with these groups, allowing each limited autonomy and a measure of development assistance in return for peace. Initially, these agreements permitted the former insurgents to continue their narcotics production and trafficking activities in relative freedom. Since the mid-1990s, however, the Burmese government has elicited "opium-free" pledges from each and, as these pledges have come due, has stepped up law-enforcement activities in the territories controlled by some of these groups.
In 2002, the Burmese government continued its crackdown in the Kokang region controlled by Peng Jiasheng's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which had pledged to be opium-free by 2000. The government modestly increased pressure on the Wa in 2002, closing down Wa liaison offices along the Thai border and arresting several Wa traffickers. The government claims it cannot crack down faster on the Wa because the Wa's opium-free pledge does not come due until 2005, and doing so would jeopardize Burma's national security, as the UWSA is a formidable military force. Under the terms of the cease-fire agreements, the Wa and other groups involved in the drug trade are largely immune from government action. For instance, Burmese troops cannot enter Wa territory without permission from the UWSA. Although unwilling to risk confronting the Wa, a potent organization with a well-manned and well-trained military force, the GOB did expand its modest police presence in the Wa territories in 2002. The government also took a more aggressive stance on traveling in Wa territory, informing UWSA officials of such visits rather than seeking their permission in advance. Nevertheless, the government has yet to put significant pressure on the Wa to stop illicit drug production or trafficking.
Despite agreements with the ethnic groups to set dates by which to be opium free, the results remain limited. Opium production and its profitability have not been replaced by substitute crops and alternative development projects that would provide farmers economically viable alternatives to poppy cultivation. For regions to become truly drug free, the government must make a considerable commitment, assisted, where possible, by the international community, to undertake an extensive range of counternarcotics actions, including crop eradication, effective law enforcement, and alternative development. The government must foster cooperation between the government and the ethnic groups involved in drug production and trafficking, including the Wa, to eliminate poppy cultivation and opium production.
The GOB must also address the explosion of ATS that has flooded Thailand and is trafficked to other countries in the region. It must make a firm commitment and make a concerted effort to stop production of ATS by gaining support and cooperation from the ethnic groups, including the Wa, involved in ATS, as well as through closing production labs and preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals needed to produce synthetic drugs.
Burma has a small, but growing drug abuse problem. While the government maintains that there are only about 70,000 registered addicts in Burma, surveys conducted by UNODC, among others, suggest that the addict population could be as high as 300,000 (i.e., still less than 1 percent of the population), with opium the major source of addiction. There is also a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, linked in part to intravenous drug use. According to surveys, 57 percent of all intravenous drug users in Burma have tested positive for the HIV/AIDS virus.
Money laundering is also an area of concern. While international money flows through Burma are small, given the undeveloped state of its banking system and tight government controls on all fund transfers, the Financial Action Task Force in June 2001 placed Burma on its list of non-cooperating territories, because of concerns regarding weaknesses in Burma's anti-money laundering regime. Burma has since responded by enacting a powerful new money laundering law, seizing assets, and preparing prosecutions in several major cases.
Policy Initiatives. Burma's official counternarcotics plan calls for the eradication of all narcotics production and trafficking over a fifteen year period, starting in 1999. The plan is to proceed by stages, with eradication efforts coupled to alternative development programs in individual townships, predominantly in Shan State. Altogether, 54 townships have been targeted, 25 of which are to be taken on during the first five years of the program.
The government has received very limited international assistance in support of these efforts. The most significant is the UN Office of Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) Wa Alternative Development Project (WADP), which is financed by the United States, Japan and, since 2002, Germany. A five-year, $12.1 million program, this project encourages alternative development in a small portion of the territory controlled by the United Wa State Army. There is also a small, U.S.-financed project in Northern Shan State (Project Old Soldier) and a Japanese effort to establish buckwheat as a cash crop in the Kokang and Mong Ko regions of northeastern Shan State. In addition, the Thai government agreed in 2001 to extend its own alternative development projects across the border into the Wa-controlled Southern Military Region of Shan State.
Narcotics Seizures. Summary statistics provided by the Burmese police indicate that the Burmese police, army, and the Customs Service together seized approximately 1,631 kilograms of raw opium, 285 kilograms of heroin, and 8.8 million methamphetamine pills during the first ten months of 2002. This compares with seizures of 1,629 kilograms of raw opium, 98 kilograms of heroin, and 32.4 million methamphetamine pills during all of 2001. The three-fold increase in heroin seizures reverses a four-year decline in such seizures. Although the explanation for decreased ATS seizures is unclear and may be related to adjustments in trafficking patterns, the relatively tiny amount seized had virtually no effect on the scope of the problem.
In 2002, the Ministry of Health issued notification No. 1/2002 identifying 25 substances as precursor chemicals and prohibiting their import, sale, or use in Burma. Seizures of precursor chemicals during the first nine months of 2002 included 1,220 kilos of ephedrine, 2,908 kilos of acetic anhydride, and 21,552 kilos of other chemicals. In 2001, the totals were 3,922 kilos of ephedrine, 12,318 liters of acetic anhydride, and 174,191 liters of other chemicals. Major cases in 2002 included the following:
In cooperation with Thailand, Burmese police contributed to the seizure of 116 kilograms of heroin and 7.8 million methamphetamine tablets in February. Two of the principals behind this shipment were also eventually convicted in Rangoon and sentenced to "indefinite" (i.e., life) terms in prison.
Arrests and Prosecutions: Burma arrested 4,148 suspects on drug related charges, according to official statistics. These include nearly 250 police officials and members of the military.
Refineries. The government destroyed 7 heroin labs through the first nine months of 2002, compared to 14 in all of 2001. It also destroyed six meth labs during the first nine months of 2002, compared to three in all of 2001.
Eradication. The government eradicated more than 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) of opium poppy over the past two crop years. Of this, 25,862 acres were destroyed during the 2001/2002 crop year; 26,113 acres were destroyed during the 2000/01 crop year. In addition, the government burned 164,000 kilos of poppy seeds capable of seeding more than 40,000 hectares during the six month period between April and October. According to the Burmese government, the destruction of those seeds, together with law enforcement actions is expected to reduce the acreage under opium cultivation by about half in 2003.
Law Enforcement Measures. Drug-enforcement efforts in Burma are led by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC), which is comprised of personnel from various security services, including the police, customs, military intelligence, and the army. CCDAC now has 18 drug-enforcement task forces around the country, with most located in major cities and along key transit routes near Burma's borders with China, India, and Thailand. As is the case with most Burmese government entities, CCDAC suffers badly from a lack of adequate resources to support its law-enforcement mission.
The legal framework for Burma's law enforcement efforts is provided by its 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. As demanded by the 1988 UN Drug Convention, that law contains legal tools for addressing money laundering, the seizure of drug-related assets, and the prosecution of drug conspiracy cases.
With assistance from UNODC, the Burmese government is in the process of drafting a new Mutual Legal Assistance Law, which should lay the groundwork for judicial and law enforcement cooperation across borders in the prosecution of money laundering and other cases.
In 2001, for the first time, the government established a police and military intelligence presence in the Wa territories. In March 2002, it demanded that new counternarcotics decrees be issued by the Wa, the Kokang Chinese, and other cease-fire groups. Those decrees outlawed participation in any aspect of the narcotics trade. In April and May 2002, the GOB also demanded and received cooperation from the United Wa State Army in bringing to heel several major fugitives wanted by China. In addition, it has closed down the liaison offices of armed groups like the United Wa State Army, and of companies associated with those groups in Tachileik, Myawaddy, and other towns on the Thai/Burmese border. Finally, the GOB continued efforts to hold cease-fire groups to their pledges to end opium production in their territories. U Sai Lin's Special Region No. 4 around Mong La has been opium-free since 1997 and the Wa are, thus far, on track to eliminate opium by 2005. The Kokang Chinese missed their opium-free target (scheduled for the year 2000), but have paid a heavy price for that failure in terms of increased attention from both the Burmese and the Chinese police. Several of these same trafficking armies also control amphetamine production labs and extensive trafficking operations. These remain largely intact, and are a major factor in amphetamine trafficking in Southeast Asia and beyond.
The government continued its crackdown begun in 2001 on the array of militias (some government-sponsored village defense forces, and others the remnants of former insurgent bands) that the government had previously allowed to cultivate opium in the Kutkai-Lashio region of northern Shan State. According to military intelligence officials, with peace now prevailing in most of the countryside and the government no longer in need of the local security services these groups provided, steps are now being taken to slowly scale back their privileges, including the right to grow and traffic in opium.
Corruption. There is no direct evidence that senior officials in the Burmese Government are directly involved in the drug trade. However, lower level officials, particularly army and police personnel posted in outlying areas, have been prosecuted for drug abuse and/or narcotics-related corruption. According to the Burmese government, over 200 police officials and 48 Burmese Army personnel have been punished for narcotics-related corruption or drug abuse between 1995 and May 2002. Of the 200 police officers, 130 were imprisoned, 16 were dismissed from the service, 7 were forced to retire, and 47 were demoted. To our knowledge, however, no Burma Army officer over the rank of full Colonel has ever been prosecuted for drug offenses in Burma. This fact, the prominent role in Burma of the family of notorious narcotics traffickers (e.g., Lo Hsing Han Clan), and the continuance of large-scale narcotics trafficking over years of intrusive military rule have given rise to speculation that some senior military leaders protect or are otherwise involved with narcotics traffickers.
Agreements and Treaties. Burma is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. In addition, Burma is also one of six nations (Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) that are parties to UNODC's sub-regional action plan for controlling precursor chemicals and reducing illicit narcotics production and trafficking in the highlands of Southeast Asia.
In 2001, Burma signed additional counternarcotics MOUs with China (in January) and Thailand (in June). The MOU with China, in particular, laid down the ground rules for joint operations, which in turn led to a series of arrests and renditions of major traffickers during the spring and summer of 2002.
Burma's MOU with Thailand commits both countries to closer police cooperation in narcotics control. In August 2001, both countries also agreed to establish joint "narcotics suppression coordination stations" in the Chiang Rai/Tachileik, Mae Sot/Myawaddy, and Ranong/Kawthoung border areas. In addition, during Secretary Khin Nyunt's September 2001 visit to Thailand, Thailand also offered 20 million baht (about $440,000) for the establishment of a new alternative development program in the Southern Military Region of Shan State, which is now occupied by the United Wa State Army.
This nascent counternarcotics cooperation between Thailand and Burma was interrupted by tensions on the border during the summer of 2002. However, as tensions have eased, cooperation has resumed.
Cultivation and Production. According to the US/Burma Joint Opium Yield Survey, opium production declined in Burma for the sixth straight year in 2002. The survey found that the maximum potential yield for opium in Burma in 2002 totaled 630 metric tons, down 235 metric tons (or approximately 26 percent) from 2001. Over the past six years, opium production in Burma has declined by more than 75 percent, from an estimated 2,560 metric tons in 1996 to 630 metric tons in 2002. The area under cultivation has dropped by more than half, from 163,100 hectares in 1996 to approximately 77,000 hectares in 2002. Yields have similarly been cut by more than half, from an estimated 17 kilograms per hectare in 1996 to levels (about 8.0 kilograms per hectare in 2002) that are now comparable to those in neighboring states such as Laos.
Results from a UNODC-sponsored census survey throughout Shan State in 2002 largely corroborated these results. According to UNODC, Burma produced approximately 828 metric tons of opium on 81,000 hectares of land in 2002.
Drug Flow/Transit. Most ATS and heroin in Burma is produced in small, mobile labs located in the Burma/China and Burma/Thailand border areas, primarily in territories controlled by active or former insurgent groups. A growing amount of methamphetamine is reportedly produced in labs co-located with heroin refineries in areas controlled by the United Wa State Army, the Kokang Chinese, and the Shan State Army--South. Heroin and methamphetamine produced by these groups are trafficked primarily through China, Thailand and, to a lesser extent, Laos, India, Bangladesh, and Burma itself.
Precursors for refining these narcotic drugs are primarily produced in India, China, Thailand, and other regional states. Burma does not have a chemical industry and does not produce ephedrine, acetic anhydride, or any of the other chemicals required for the narcotics trade. Similarly, the major markets for all of these narcotic drugs lie in neighboring states. Relatively little is sold in Burma itself.
Demand Reduction. The overall level of drug abuse is low in Burma compared with neighboring countries. According to the GOB, there are only about 70,000 "officially registered" drug abusers in Burma. While this is undoubtedly an underestimate, even UNODC estimates that there may be no more than 300,000 people (still less than 1 percent of the population) who abuse drugs in Burma. Most, particularly among the older generation, use opium, but use of heroin and synthetic drugs is rising, particularly in urban and mining areas.
Burmese demand reduction programs are in part coercive and in part voluntary. Addicts are required to register and can be prosecuted if they fail to register and accept treatment. Altogether, more 21,000 addicts were prosecuted for failing to register between 1994 and April 2002.
Demand reduction programs and facilities are strictly limited, however. There are six major drug treatment centers under the Ministry of Health, 49 other smaller detox centers, and eight rehabilitation centers which, together, have reportedly provided treatment to about 55,000 addicts over the past nine years. There are also a variety of narcotics awareness programs conducted through the public school system. According to UNODC, approximately 1,200 high school teachers participated in seminars, training programs, and workshops connected with these programs in 2001. In addition, the government has established demand reduction programs in cooperation with NGOs. These include programs with CARE Myanmar, World Concern, and Population Services International, all of which focus on injecting drug use as a factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Policy and Programs. Direct USG counternarcotics assistance to Burma has been suspended since 1988, when the Burmese military suppressed the pro-democracy movement. The USG now engages the Burmese government in regard to narcotics control only on a very limited level. DEA, through the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, shares drug-related intelligence with the GOB and conducts joint drug-enforcement investigations with Burmese counternarcotics authorities. Other U.S. agencies have conducted opium yield surveys in the mountainous regions of the Shan State in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 with essential assistance provided by Burmese counterparts. These surveys give both governments an accurate understanding of the scope, magnitude, and changing geographic distribution of Burma's opium crop.
The U.S. Government regularly urges the Burmese government to continue to take steps to curb narcotics production and trafficking. Specifically, the USG has encouraged the Burmese government to:
The Road Ahead. The Burmese government has committed itself in recent years to expanded counternarcotics measures, has found major regional allies (particularly China) in this fight, and has built up the capacity to identify and punish drug traffickers and major trafficking organizations, even within the context of very limited resources. Based on experience in dealing with significant narcotics-trafficking problems elsewhere in the world, the USG recognizes that large-scale and long-term international aid--including development assistance and law-enforcement aid--would help curb drug production and trafficking in Burma. However, recurring human rights problems have limited international support of all kinds, including support for Burma's law enforcement efforts. The USG believes that the Government of Burma should continue to reduce opium cultivation and production, combat corruption, enforce its narcotics and money-laundering legislation, and deal with drug abuse. Its efforts have produced measurable results. The USG strongly urges the GOB to sustain and intensify those efforts so that its counternarcotics efforts are commensurate with the scope of the problem. The USG also urges the GOB to take efforts to combat the production and trafficking of ATS, and to expand its law-enforcement campaign to the most prominent trafficking groups and their leaders. In addition, the USG encourages the GOB to continue its expanded efforts to cooperate with other countries in the region. Continued and intensified, these efforts could lead to a sustained reduction in all forms of narcotics production and trafficking from an area that has been one of the world's major drug trafficking centers.
Burma Statistics
| 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opium | ||||||||||
| Potential Harvest (ha) | 78,000 | 105,000 | 108,700 | 89,500 | 130,300 | 155,150 | 163,100 | 154,070 | 146,600 | 165,800 |
| Eradication (ha) | 25,862 | 9,317 | 0 | 9,800 | 16,194 | 10,501 | 0 | 0 | 3,345 | 604 |
| Cultivation (ha) | 103,862 | 114,317 | 108,700 | 99,300 | 146,494 | 165,651 | 163,100 | 154,070 | 149,945 | 166,404 |
| Potential Yield (mt) | 630 | 865 | 1,085 | 1,090 | 1,750 | 2,365 | 2,560 | 2,340 | 2,030 | 2,575 |
| Seizures | ||||||||||
| Opium (mt) | 1,863.28 | 1,629.06 | 1.528 | 1.445 | 5.200 | 7.884 | 1.300 | 1.060 | 2.265 | 2.265 |
| Heroin (mt) | 0.334 | 0.097 | 0.171 | 0.273 | 0.386 | 1.401 | 0.505 | 0.070 | 0.347 | 0.300 |
| Marijuana (mt) | 0.282 | 0.284 | -- | 0.274 | 0.160 | 0.288 | 0.259 | 0.239 | 0.290 | 0.600 |
| Ephedrine (mt) | 3.9220 | 1.723 | 2.671 | 6.485 | 3.819 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Acetic Anhydride (ltr) | 12,318 | 2,953 | 3,945 | 1,620 | 424 | 2,137 | 5,082 | 1,159 | 1,191 | 1,016 |
| Other Data | ||||||||||
| Heroin Labs Destroyed | na | 7 | -- | 23 | 32 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Meth Labs Destroyed | na | 3 | -- | 6 | ||||||
| Narcotics Arrests | -- | -- | 6,413 | 4,456 | 4,522 | 4,522 | 5,541 | 7,134 | 7,520 | |
| Heroin Users (thousands) | 300 | 300 | -- | 300 | 300 | 300 | 150 | 100 | 30 | 30 |
| Opium Users (thousands) | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Arrests | 4,148 | -- | 4,881 | 6,413 | 4,845 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Burma is a major heroin and amphetamine-type-stimulant producer. Burma does not have a chemical industry and chemical requirements are met primarily by smuggling from China and India of chemicals diverted in those countries.
Although a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, Burma does not have laws and regulations to meet its chemical control provisions. In 2002, the Ministry of Health issued notification No.1/2002 identifying 25 substances as precursor chemicals and prohibiting their import, sale or use in Burma.
Burma is one of six regional countries participating in the UN International Drug Control Programs sub-regional action plan for controlling precursor chemicals and reducing illicit drug production and trafficking in the highlands of Southeast Asia. Burma is a nominal participant in Operation Topaz, but has not been represented at any of its meetings.