MYANMAR SAYS SEIZES 53.4 KG OF HEROIN

YANGON, - Myanmar's official news agency said on
Sunday that authorities had seized 53.42 kg (117 lb) of heroin and
more than half a million stimulant tablets in a raid in the north of
the country.

The drugs were seized on January 24 in Tachilek, 1,264 km (790 miles)
north of Yangon, after a tipoff from a "duty conscious" person, the
Myanma News Agency reported.

Five people arrested in the raid would face legal action, it
said.

Military-ruled Myanmar has said authorities seized 403 kg (886 lb) of
heroin, 5,394 kg (11,866 lb) of opium, 380 kg (of marijuana and more
than 16 million stimulant tablets in 1998.

But overseas officials working to stem the flood of narcotics from
Myanmar's refineries have expressed doubt about the government's
commitment to eradicating the menace.

Myanmar is one of the world's leading producers of
heroin.

Its powerful chief of military intelligence, Lieutenant General Khin
Nyunt, a leading figure in the government and the head of its drug
suppression effort, said last week Yangon did not receive effective
foreign assistance for the task.

The announcement of the latest seizures came ahead of an Interpol
conference on drug suppression in Yangon next month.