The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) identified a dramatic increase in the trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine, in East and Southeast Asia. In 2024, a record 236 tonnes were seized, marking a 24 percent rise from the previous year. The surge is especially notable in the Golden Triangle region, where drug production is rampant due to the political instability in Myanmar. Despite law enforcement successes, drug gangs are adapting quickly to counter measures, indicating a growing market for methamphetamine, affecting countries across the region.
While these seizures reflect, in part, successful law enforcement efforts, we are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle, in particular Shan State, Hofmann said.
Thailand became the first country in the region to seize more than 100 tonnes of methamphetamine in a single year last year, interdicting a total of 130 tonnes.
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