UN REPORT: CAMBODIA TOP WORLD SOURCE OF MARIJUANA

PHNOM PENH: The United Nations has branded Cambodia one of the largest
suppliers of marijuana to the world, with business estimated to
generate nearly US$1bil (RM3.8bil) a year.

The value of the export of marijuana is estimated to be on par with
that of Cambodia's top foreign exchange earner, the garment industry,
which employs more than 100,000 people, the UN International Drug
Control Programme said in a report.

"With Cambodia as one of the world's largest suppliers of cannabis,
and in combination with the destabilising effects the illicit profits
of this trade has on the country, this situation is clearly not
acceptable," said the report.

"If this phenomenon is not halted, it will have serious economic and
social implications."

The report said more than 200 tonnes of high-grade Cambodian marijuana
had been seized abroad since 1996, primarily in Europe.

Significant quantities of heroin and methamphetamines from the Golden
Triangle of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand and chemicals used to produce
narcotics are also being shipped through Cambodia, the report said.

The UNDCP said Cambodian law enforcement officials were involved in
the drug trade.

"Military police could play an important role in dealing with drug
production and trafficking. Many observers, however, feel that the
military forces are presently more a part of the drug trafficking
problem than its solution," the UNDCP said.

Graham Shaw, UNDCP's Cambodia programme officer, said yesterday that
the UN had committed US$3.5mil (RM13.3mil) to assist Cambodia in its
fight against drugs.