Almost £500m worth of drugs and precursors were burned by Myanmar’s military authorities.[1] Seized drugs were burnt in Yangon, Myanmar, on 26 June 2021.[2] Myanmar ceremonially incinerated seized drugs in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.[2] Sacks of green-brown cannabis were stacked high at the Yangon compound alongside bin-liner-sized bags of red-pink pills.[3] Slabs of heroin, bags of ketamine and tramadol and Ice were also laid out on the pyre.[3] Heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine and ketamine were among substances disposed of in the haul valued at £489m.[1]

A total of just under US$668 million of narcotics, including 224 million meth tablets, were torched in the three cities.[3] In Yangon, 25 kinds of narcotic drugs and precursor chemicals worth over 320 billion kyats (about 190 million U.S. dollars), which were seized in the lower part of Myanmar, were destroyed.[2] The destroyed drugs included heroin, opium, stimulant tablets, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy among others in connection with 4,030 drug cases.[2]

Home affairs minister Lieutenant General Soe Htut inspected the substances.[1] The junta took control on 1 February after the military’s proxy party was thoroughly beaten by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in last year’s election.[1] Shortly before the burning, the UN General Assembly passed a motion condemning Myanmar’s military regime after it seized power from democratic politicians earlier that year.[1]