South Asia a hotspot for drug traffickers

South Asia a hotspot for drug traffickers

2011-03-03 02:21:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations reported on Wednesday that South Asia has become one of the main regions used by drug cartels to source chemicals needed for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine, namely ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in its annual report for 2010 released at its Vienna headquarters that India is one of the main sources of psychotropic substances sold through illegal Internet pharmacies. Indian authorities increasingly uncover facilities, where methamphetamine destined for markets in other countries is illicitly manufactured, and in 2009, enforcement agencies seized 1.2 tons of ephedrine.

Pharmaceutical products containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are widely abused in South Asian countries. According to the report, in 2009, 18,600 ampoules containing buprenorphine, a painkiller, were seized in Bangladesh, a significant increase from 2006.

The abuse of methamphetamine has also increased in southeast Asia in places like Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Important quantities of methamphetamine were trafficked from Iran and neighbouring countries to the region as a recent trend. An estimated 25 per cent of all injecting drug abusers in the world live in East and South-East Asia, increasing the risk of an HIV epidemic in the region.

The report also observed that cannabis is cultivated on a large scale throughout south Asia and gave the Bangladesh example where 2.1 tonnes of the herb were seized by law enforcement agencies in 2009.

The agency urged the government and industry to take action to prevent the diversion and use of medicines for the commission of drug-facilitated crime. The INCB is the independent monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations' international drug control conventions.

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