Seized Drugs Go Up in Smoke as Myanmar Stages Crackdown

Nearly a billion dollars’ worth of opium, heroin and amphetamines was set on fire Saturday as authorities in Myanmar sought to impress foreign governments and media with the seriousness of their efforts to stamp out the illicit drug trade.

The destruction of seized drugs was staged to coincide with a regional meeting designed to coordinate the anti-drug efforts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The three-day meeting, held under the auspices of the U.N. International Drug Control Program, ended Friday, but many delegates stayed on to see Myanmar’s efforts in the field.

Drug burnings have become a ritual in Southeast Asian nations, making a public relations virtue out of the necessity to dispose of the drugs.

Myanmar has conducted 15 such events.

On Saturday, the seized drugs were laid out along tables set end to end for about 66 feet.

The drugs--including 2,862 pounds of opium, 255 pounds of heroin, 968 pounds of marijuana and 2.7 million amphetamine tablets--were mostly in their original packing: brown paper wrapping, plastic bags and jute sacks. Gasoline-soaked wood for kindling lay beneath the tables.

The total street value of the drugs in the United States would be $920 million, officials said.