Thailand, China dominate methamphetamine busts in East and South-East Asia: UN

[webfact]

Record methamphetamine arrests in East Asia, UN says

BANGKOK: -- A record number of methamphetamine-related arrests took place in East and South-East Asia last year, as seizures of the drug surged by nearly two thirds, the United Nations reported Friday.

"Some 387,396 methamphetamine-related arrests were recorded in the region in 2012, the highest total ever reported," the annual report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

Thailand topped the list with 195,741, China came second with 75,549 and Malaysia third with 74,460.

Myanmar, a major supplier of methamphetamines to the region, reported 1,825 arrests, up from 1,269 from 2011 figures.

Methamphetamines have been the most popular illicit drug in East and South-East Asia for decades.

Last year, some 226,713,942 methamphetamine pills were seized in the region, up 59 per cent from 2011, with almost half accounted for by China, where 102,242,000 pills were seized.

Thailand reported seizures of 95,268,000 pills, almost double the 2011 figure of 95,258,000.

Seizures of ecstasy more than tripled, to 5,435,626 pills confiscated, the report said.


-- The Nation 2013-11-08

[HeijoshinCool]

Thailand, 65 million citizens; 195, 741 reported arrests.

China, 1 billion citizens; 75,549 reported arrests.

[Commander Tamson]

The number of seizures and arrests in Thailand is staggering - I just don't get it! We're talking about what we called Speed - right? I've noticed a few taxi drivers a bit twitchy in my time here, but is it really at such epidemic proportions?

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[bigbamboo]

A new hub for Thailand.

[seminomadic]

My friend did yaa baa one time and said that it's unremarkable - just makes you feel like you're on something, but not quite pleasurable. Just sort of wired without the cocaine intensity.

Anyone else want to weigh in on the appeal of this drug, other than that it keeps taxi drivers who work double and/or night shifts awake?

[arthurboy]

The number of seizures and arrests in Thailand is staggering - I just don't get it! We're talking about what we called Speed - right? I've noticed a few taxi drivers a bit twitchy in my time here, but is it really at such epidemic proportions?

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I would say yes.

Many crime and road accident related news items often make mention of the fact that the offender was on ya ba at the time.

I haven't read the report, but among the arrests, how many Mr. Bigs have been apprehended?

Mmm...

[Commander Tamson]

My friend did yaa baa one time and said that it's unremarkable - just makes you feel like you're on something, but not quite pleasurable. Just sort of wired without the cocaine intensity.

 

Anyone else want to weigh in on the appeal of this drug, other than that it keeps taxi drivers who work double and/or night shifts awake?

I had a friend like that once - lol

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[pete66]

My friend did yaa baa one time and said that it's unremarkable - just makes you feel like you're on something, but not quite pleasurable. Just sort of wired without the cocaine intensity.

Anyone else want to weigh in on the appeal of this drug, other than that it keeps taxi drivers who work double and/or night shifts awake?

I used to know a bunch of young guys who worked at a famous department store in Bangkok, and they did it all the time. Just gave them loads of energy and stopped them going to sleep at work. Of course after a year or two of doing that you end up a wreck, but hey, young Thai men ......

[KC 71]

I've been watching lots of stuff about this drug on the internet

Mainly USA related

It's quite sad what it does to people in the long term

Drain cleaner fluid

Not quite the same same as Bolivian marching powder i think

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[pacovl46]

Thailand, 65 million citizens; 195, 741 reported arrests.

China, 1 billion citizens; 75,549 reported arrests.

That's probably because you will be executed within a week after you've been sentenced in China for certain crimes whereas in Thailand it's the Bangkok Hilton!

[MILT]

Meth is real bad MmmmmmmKay.

[squarethecircle]

My friend did yaa baa one time and said that it's unremarkable - just makes you feel like you're on something, but not quite pleasurable. Just sort of wired without the cocaine intensity.

Anyone else want to weigh in on the appeal of this drug, other than that it keeps taxi drivers who work double and/or night shifts awake?

Much of the street yaa baa is mixed with caffeine and who knows what else so its effect might not be as strong as pure ice. It causes dopamine (our body's natural pleasure chemical) to be released like a flood, whereas coca!ne works by inhibiting the reuptake of naturally produced dopamine. Seems like just by the mechanism of action, pure crystal meth is a stronger drug in terms of the immediate hit.

Regardless, It's Bad News. Most of the Chinese busts are across the border from Laos and Myanmar in Yunnan province.

[meom]

Meth is real bad MmmmmmmKay.

LOL.

Yes it is better than cocaine.

More bang for your buck and such.

Just make sure you don't overdo it because once you go over the edge it's a long way back.

[lungmi]

methamphetamine

Hitler´s armies used it against Poland and France,

The USA in Vietnam, sportsmen (Andre Agassi and some Boxers), mountaineers etc. too.

The brand name Pervitin (better Perversin) is well known in the world.

[foxteen]

I remember years back i was in Brarom itzil and they use lots of Pervitin.

I was trying to save this guy from it and could not.He wants to get off but i could not stay there because my time was limit.

I really felt sorry for him and i got no idea where he is now

[foxteen]

I just wonder if the chinese has been trade this stuff since then> and continue to do so now days.I would not trust containers without proper check

[jcisco]

I just wonder if the chinese has been trade this stuff since then> and continue to do so now days.I would not trust containers without proper check

hmmm... ok are you talking about shipping containers?? ,,, (thats my reply to you the rest is my total all in one thread reply... )

A: Impossible to inspect every container to ensure its contents is as declared

B: Containers are not really the item of trust with which border control authorities tend to relate to.

C: Shipping containers are hardly a factor with convenient and porous borders between Burma and its surrounding

nations and China itself.

D: Golden Triangle

Containers are generally handled in a manner best suited for the parties associated with the container. The forwarder, the shipper etc etc, if the parties in question have a good in practice standing then containers are much less likely to be inspected.

Of course this is not going to mitigate other factors such as detectors at the portal or known factors that would dictate that the contents be inspected at some level.

But all off this is damn moot when transporting large quantities of drugs such as pure heroin require only a person to carry it. When it comes to meth, I guess significant portions are moved over the borders on foot and a fair bit is making it through mixed in with commercial border traffic on trucks and what not.

Then there are river crossings, it is a difficult problem to contain in this region. And I would hope with Burma back into the world to some extent that resources and the will may be brought to bare on curtailing the huge flow of drugs into the region and beyond.

I kinda of imagined that it would of been Chinese factories mass producing high quality drugs and exporting them worldwide. But from what I have read and seen reported, it appears that it is not the case...

[chainarong]

Sorry to be a party pooper , just go's to show Thaskin Shinawtra's clamp down on drug pushers in the north a few years back, didn't have the desired effect after all.

[JSPS]

Meth is bad stuff. One of the attractions is that it is easy to make if you have access to the precursor chemicals, like epinephrine or pseudoephedrine both of which are used in cold medicine.

I think that most of the labs are in the Golden Triangle and feed Thailand, Laos and China. The North Koreans are rumored to be entering the market as well. China may be allowing the Norks to transport through their territory in return for agreeing not to sell in China. But that's only rumor as far as I know.

One thing that goes together with meth seems to be irrational paranoia. One methhead wife called the cops out because she had discovered her husband's kiddie porn stash. When she showed the officer it turned out to be an advertisement from a department store selling back to school clothes.

If you have seen Breaking Bad you might have got a glimpse of how meth users live. There was an episode where Jesse tracked down the couple that had ripped off his street dealer. He went in the house and found a child. Later the couple quarreled while trying to open a stolen ATM and the wife accidentally dropped it on her husband;s head.

A few years ago I was living in an apartment that rented to "low income" people. A guy in a different apartment was cooking meth in his bathroom. He had a 6 year old and an 12 year old daughters. There was nothing to eat in the house, The carpeting was rotted away. The bathroom was unusable because that was where he cooked. His wife has left him the year before and left the girls with him.

And that is only one case. It is repeated over and over again. So, it's bad, mkay? Really, really bad. Oh, people get off it, But the recidivism rate is around 90%. It really screws your head up.

[FarangKino]

Meth is real bad MmmmmmmKay.

LOL.

Yes it is better than cocaine.

More bang for your buck and such.

Just make sure you don't overdo it because once you go over the edge it's a long way back.

Yes it is better than cocaine???

Surely you jest?