MYANMAR INCINERATES OVER RM3.8B IN DRUGS

YANGON: AFP- Military-ruled Myanmar, the world's largest opium producer,
put the torch yesterday to drugs it said were worth more than a US$1bil
(RM3.8bil) in its latest bid to convince critics it is committed to
eradicating the menace.

In a steady downpour and accompanied by a military tattoo, the junta
flicked a switch to ignite an incinerator into which workers shovelled bags
of heroin bricks and amphetamines.

Senior Gen Than Shwe, the country's top ruler, and international diplomats
attended the burning ceremony, the 16th of its type held by the junta since
1990.

It destroyed 3,027kg of opium, 240kgof heroin, 434kg of marijuana, 34.9
million amphetamine tables, four million ephedrine tablets and 2,865kg of
powdered ephedrine.

"The value of drugs to be destroyed today is estimated at US$1.078bil
(RM4.09bil), calculated at retail prices on the streets of America," the
Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control's Brig Gen Zaw Win said in a
speech before the display.

"The Myanmar government is totally aware of the scarring threat and is
trying its utmost best to combat these deplorable drugs."

Some 200 people attended the ceremony, which marked the United Nations
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and was held
on the grounds of the vast Myanmar Drugs Elimination Museum in suburban Yangon.

Foreign Minister Win Aung, several top dignitaries, military officials and
senior diplomats watched as US Drug Enforcement Agency officials helped
conduct spot checks on packets of heroin to verify there were actual drugs
being destroyed.

According to the latest US State Department anti-narcotics report published
this year, Myanmar is the world's largest producer of illicit opium. It is
also the primary source of amphetamine-type stimulants in Asia.