Meth seizures surge across Asia as Myanmar cements its role as a production hub

Methamphetamine seizures have surged across East and Southeast Asia as Myanmar entrenches itself as the region's primary production hub, flooding neighboring markets with drugs that have grown cheaper and more abundant even as law enforcement seizures climb.

Myanmar's position at the center of the regional meth trade is not new, the country's Shan State, part of the long-notorious Golden Triangle border region, has for years hosted large-scale production run by armed groups operating with limited interference from central authorities. But the chaos and fragmented control that followed the 2021 military coup appear to have deepened that dynamic further, giving armed factions and criminal networks even more room to operate with little oversight in areas where state authority has receded.

The effects are visible furthest downstream in consumer markets. In Thailand, the street price of methamphetamine has fallen sharply in recent years, a trend that typically signals abundant, reliable supply rather than any softening in enforcement, and the country is grappling with a growing drug abuse epidemic as a result. Cheaper, more available product flowing out of Myanmar has made the drug more accessible to a wider population, straining treatment systems and law enforcement resources across the region.

Rising seizure numbers reflect both the scale of what is moving through regional trafficking networks and the difficulty authorities face in meaningfully slowing production at its source. With large production areas inside Myanmar effectively beyond the reach of central government enforcement, regional authorities have had to focus largely on interdiction along trafficking routes and in destination markets rather than at the point of manufacture, a pattern that has done little so far to reverse the broader surge.