Latest news with #GoldenTriangle
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
American Creek's JV Partner Tudor Gold Commences 2025 Exploration Drill Program at Treaty Creek
Cardston, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 20, 2025) - American Creek Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AMK) ("the Corporation" or "American Creek") is pleased to announce that project operator and JV partner Tudor Gold ("Tudor") is reporting on the 2025 exploration drill program at the flagship Treaty Creek Project, located in the Golden Triangle of Northwest British Columbia. 2025 Exploration Program Phase 1 drilling of the 2025 exploration program has commenced and is expected to consist of seven holes totaling approximately 6,000 meters (m) of diamond drilling at the Goldstorm Deposit. The primary objective of the Phase 1 drill program is to expand the recently discovered high-grade gold Supercell-One system (SC-1), which was delineated over an 800 m by 400 m area during 2024. SC-1 is a gold-dominant, quartz-sulphide, breccia-hosted structural corridor open to the northwest, north and east. There is excellent potential to discover further high-grade SC-1 style gold-bearing structures proximal to the Goldstorm Deposit within a 600 m by 400 m area extending from SC-1 to previously identified high-grade intercepts within the 300H and 300N Domains of the Goldstorm Deposit. Drill results from SC-1 in 2022 to 2024 include the following high-grade gold intercepts: GS-23-176-W1: 15.00 m @ 15.64 grams/tonne (g/t) AuEQ (14.89 g/t Au, 4.72 g/t Ag, 0.60% Cu) GS-22-134: 25.50 m @ 9.96 g/t AuEQ (9.66 g/t Au, 1.23 g/t Ag, 0.24% Cu) including 4.50 m @ 20.86 g/t AuEQ (20.61 g/t Au, 1.50 g/t Ag, 0.20% Cu) GS-23-179: 12.00 m @ 10.07 g/t AuEQ (9.78 g/t Au, 1.35 g/t Ag, 0.23% Cu) GS-24-185: 13.50 m @ 9.60 g/t AuEQ (9.58 g/t Au, 0.44 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) Drill results from 300H and 300N Domains in 2021 and 2023 include the following high-grade gold intercepts: GS-21-113-W1: 13.50 m @ 8.96 g/t AuEQ (8.77 g/t Au, 15.10 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) GS-21-113: 24.00 m @ 6.06 g/t AuEQ (5.81 g/t Au, 20.30 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) GS-23-178-W1: 12.00 m @ 6.03 g/t AuEQ (5.90 g/t Au, 12.31 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) Click the following links to view the corresponding plan view and oblique view. Plan Map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Oblique Map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Phase 2 of the 2025 exploration program will consist of 1,600 m of additional exploration drilling contingent on the success of Phase 1 drilling. Underground Permitting The application to permit an underground exploration drill program focused on the high-grade SC-1 is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. Phase 3 of the 2025 exploration program will consist of two orientated-core geotechnical diamond drill holes, totaling approximately 500 m, targeting the portal and ramp entrance area for the underground development. These holes are planned to be drilled at the end of the 2025 exploration program. Ken Konkin, Senior Vice-President of Exploration for Tudor Gold, comments: "We are focused on increasing the high-grade gold potential of SC-1 with this year's drill program. The planned holes are designed to expand upon the successful intercepts from our recent drill campaigns. The targets are structurally controlled, late-stage, gold-rich breccia systems that complement the four known SC-1 structures: SC-1 A, B, C and D. We look forward to a successful 2025 exploration program in the following months as we begin our quest to develop a multi-million-ounce high-grade gold system peripheral to the gold-copper Goldstorm Deposit." Quality Assurance and Control Ken Konkin, Senior Vice-President of Exploration for Tudor Gold, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the Project. Mr. Konkin has reviewed, verified, and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release. About Treaty Creek The Treaty Creek Project hosts the Goldstorm Deposit, comprising a large gold-copper porphyry system, as well as several other mineralized zones. As disclosed in the "NI-43-101 Technical Report for the Treaty Creek Project", dated April 5, 2024 prepared by Garth Kirkham Geosystems and JDS Energy & Mining Inc., the Goldstorm Deposit has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 27.87 million ounces (Moz) of AuEQ grading 1.19 g/t AuEQ (21.66 Moz gold grading 0.92 g/t, 2.87 billion pounds (Blbs) copper grading 0.18%, 128.73 Moz silver grading 5.48 g/t) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 6.03 Moz of AuEQ grading 1.25 g/t AuEQ (4.88 Moz gold grading 1.01 g/t, 503.2 Mlb copper grading 0.15%, 28.97 Moz silver grading 6.02 g/t), with a pit constrained cut-off of 0.7 g/t AuEQ and an underground cut-off of 0.75 g/t AuEQ. The Goldstorm Deposit has been categorized into three dominant mineral domains and several smaller mineral domains. The CS-600 domain largely consists of nested pulses of diorite intrusive stocks and hosts the majority of the copper mineralization within the Goldstorm Deposit. CS-600 has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 15.65 Moz AuEQ grading 1.22 g/t AuEQ (9.99 Moz gold grading 0.78 g/t, 2.73 Blbs copper grading 0.31%, 73.47 Moz silver grading 5.71 g/t) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.86 Moz AuEQ grading 1.20 g/t AuEQ (1.87 Moz gold grading 0.79 g/t, 475.6 Mlb copper grading 0.29%, 13.4 Moz silver grading 5.63 g/t). The Goldstorm Deposit remains open in all directions and requires further exploration drilling to determine the size and extent of the Deposit.1 AuEq = Au g/t + (Ag g/t*0.0098765) + (Cu ppm*0.0001185) Treaty Creek JV Partnership American Creek is a proud partner in the Treaty Creek Project. The project is a Joint Venture with Tudor Gold owning 3/5th and acting as operator. American Creek and Teuton Resources each have a 1/5th interest in the project creating a 3:1 ownership relationship between Tudor Gold and American Creek. Tudor and American Creek entered into a Binding Letter of Intent on June 6, 2025, and announced on June 9, 2025, pursuant to which Tudor will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of American Creek by way of a Plan of Arrangement. Currently, American Creek holds a 20% carried interest, and Tudor a 60% interest, in the Treaty Creek Project located in northwest British Columbia. On completion of the proposed Transaction, Tudor will hold an 80% interest in the Treaty Creek Project. About American Creek American Creek is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company with gold and silver properties in British Columbia, Canada. The Corporation has an interest in the Treaty Creek property, a joint venture project with Tudor Gold located in BC's prolific "Golden Triangle". The Corporation also holds the Austruck-Bonanza gold property located near Kamloops. For further information, please contact Kelvin Burton at: Phone: 403 752-4040 or Email: info@ Information relating to the Corporation is available on its website at Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Corporation expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including the completion and anticipated results of planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connation thereof. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the Corporation's planned exploration activities will be completed in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Corporation in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Corporation's plans or expectations include risks relating to the actual results of current exploration activities, fluctuating gold prices, possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, exploration cost overruns, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Corporation with securities regulators. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scottie Announces Selection of Tetra Tech to Lead PEA Study
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 16, 2025) - Scottie Resources Corp. (TSXV: SCOT) (OTCQB: SCTSF) (FSE: SR8) ("Scottie" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has selected Tetra Tech Inc. ("Tetra Tech") to lead the study work for a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on its 100% owned Scottie Gold Mine Project, which includes the historic mine and adjacent Blueberry Contact Zone located in British Columbia's Golden Triangle mining jurisdiction. The Company is targeting the completion of the PEA in Q4 2025. The PEA will investigate a high-margin DSO operation to deliver a gold concentrate to Asian copper/precious metals smelters. By design, the operation will eliminate the need for a gold processing plant and tailings facility, thereby significantly reducing the capital required and resulting in a minimal environmental footprint. The PEA will be based on the recently reported Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of 703,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.1 g/t gold (see NR dated May 7, 2025). The project envisages a shallow open pit on the Blueberry Zone to start, followed by underground production from both Blueberry and the past-producing Scottie Gold Mine. Sean Masse, COO of Scottie stated: "The selection of Tetra Tech as our PEA partner is a considerable step towards development. The PEA will allow us to clearly show the value of the deposits at the Scottie Gold Mine, and the minimal capital required to reach production. The pathway to production illustrated in our recently completed Regulatory Road Map clearly defines the necessary environmental considerations and permit requirements. The timelines for this mesh well with the necessary stages of engineering and technical studies required for production." Additional Technical Studies In conjunction with the initiation of the PEA study, Scottie has advanced additional studies on the project, including: Initiation of Phase 2 - Ore Sorting Study Initiation of a Dense Media Separation (DMS) Study Completion of a Regulatory Road Map for Mine Permitting Ore Sorting The Phase 2 - Ore Sorting Study, led by ABH Engineering, is designed to follow up on the positive results from the previous PEA level study (see NR dated April 1, 2025). The Phase 2 test will consist of large three-stage cascade ore sorting tests on full scale XRF and XRT machines. The composite samples collected for these tests were designed to mirror the grades and mineralogy of zones in the Company's maiden resource estimate, with samples selected to represent the Blueberry open pit, Blueberry underground, and Scottie Gold Mine underground. The composite samples were created from ¼ core intervals taken from drill intercepts from the 2019-2024 drill programs. This phase of testing will help to determine the optimal sorting conditions suitable for production and will be suitable for a Feasibility level study. The samples have been shipped, and the tests are being done on full scale ore sorting machines based in Canada (XRT) and South Africa (XRF). Results are expected in early Q4 2025. DMS testing The DMS study is being completed by Sepro Systems ("Sepro") to assess the potential upgrade of the fines byproduct created due to onsite crushing before ore sorting. The initial scoping level test will use heavy liquid separation on ~20 kg samples to evaluate the effectiveness. Based on the strong associations between gold zones and sulphide minerals pyrrhotite and pyrite, favourable XRT results from the Phase 1 - Ore Sorting study, it is anticipated that DMS will prove to be a viable technique to further enhance the economics of the project. The composite sample has been created and shipped; the initial tests are expected to be completed in late Q3 2025. Regulatory Road Map To better understand the permitting pathways, timelines, and anticipated costs, Scottie engaged Falkirk Environmental Consultants ("Falkirk") to develop a Regulatory Road Map which was completed in May. The report provides a clear a pathway to production in as short as a 36-month timeframe and identified the critical risk factors and rate-limiting steps in the process. The company has developed a strategy and is commencing work on the critical path elements. ABOUT SCOTTIE RESOURCES CORP. Scottie owns a 100% interest in the Scottie Gold Mine Property which includes the Blueberry Contact Zone and the high-grade, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine. Scottie also owns 100% interest in the Georgia Project which contains the high-grade past-producing Georgia River Mine, as well as the Cambria Project properties and the Sulu and Tide North properties. Altogether Scottie Resources holds approximately 58,500 hectares of mineral claims in the Stewart Mining Camp in the Golden Triangle. The Company's focus is on expanding the known mineralization around the past-producing mines while advancing near mine high-grade gold targets, with the purpose of delivering a potential resource. All of the Company's properties are located in the area known as the Golden Triangle of British Columbia which is among the world's most prolific mineralized districts. Additional Information Brad RourkeCEO+1 250 877 9902brad@ Gordon RobbBusiness Development / IR+1 250 217 2321gordon@ Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward‐looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward‐looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward‐looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Telegraph
Asia's Golden Triangle was once the opium capital of the world. Now the drug of choice is meth
The soldiers drop to the forest floor as their lieutenant barks an order and the men quickly meld into the lush hillside's dense foliage, weapons poised. 'This part is about patience,' says Lt Ketsopon Nopsiri, as he inspects his men's drill positions on a misty Saturday morning. 'Once we have the intel, we scout a place for the ambush. Sometimes it's hours before the smugglers come. But then everything happens very rapidly.' In these mountainous pine forests in the heart of the Golden Triangle, Thai soldiers are embroiled in a sometimes deadly standoff, as they struggle to stem the surging flow of illicit synthetic drugs flooding across the unmarked border with Myanmar. In 2024, Thailand seized a record 130 tons of methamphetamine, according to a report last week from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which uses confiscated drugs as a proxy for the scale of production and trafficking. That's close to half of the 236 tons seized in East and Southeast Asia as a whole – itself a record figure, and 24 per cent higher than 2023. 'While these seizures reflect, in part, successful law enforcement efforts, we are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle,' says Benedikt Hofmann, the UNODC's acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. 'We are looking at the world's most active synthetic drug production zone, here in this region,' he adds later. The vast majority of these drugs come from Myanmar's Shan state, where jungle labs are turning precursor chemicals from India and China into an 'almost never-ending' stream of synthetic drugs. While production pre-dated the military coup in 2021, these workshops have gone into overdrive since the country descended into a brutal civil war. The heavily sanctioned military regime is increasingly reliant on proceeds from criminal activities – as are the armed groups fighting with and against them – while crime syndicates have exploited rising lawlessness to cement their influence. According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Myanmar now ranks as the world's top destination for organised, transnational crime – including human trafficking and scam centres, wildlife smuggling and illegal rare earth mines. And, of course, the drugs. The opium trade that first made the Golden Triangle notorious has made a comeback, but there is now also 'industrial-scale production' of synthetic drugs, says UNODC. Alongside methamphetamine tablets, crystal meth (ice) and yaba (a very cheap combination of methamphetamine and caffeine popular in Southeast Asia), labs are also manufacturing ketamine, plus concoctions of various synthetic drugs known as 'happy water', 'party lollipops' and 'k-powdered milk'. These are eventually transported across Asia and the Pacific, to countries as far away as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, via trafficking networks operated by what experts say are 'agile, well-resourced' criminal gangs. But often, their first port of call is Thailand – and the porous border that spans either side of Mae Sai town, where Lt Ketsopon and his unit are among the troops attempting to intercept smugglers. 'People cross the border on foot with backpacks full of drugs,' says Lt Ketsopon, as we trudge along a remote stretch of the 22km border which his unit at Doi Changmub monitors. 'The paths are not easy, and we don't have enough manpower in comparison to the region we have to cover.' When the unit does encounter smugglers – usually in night time ambushes, organised with intelligence from a network of informants on both sides of the border – the clashes can be deadly. Across Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces in northern Thailand, there were 37 confrontations between October 1 and April 30, and 13 smugglers died, according to military data from the Pha Mueng Taskforce. Lt Ketsopon's unit was involved in one of these deadly clashes, at 5am on a Sunday morning in February. 'We never fire a weapon before the other side. In our playbook you don't do that. But we said we were officers of the law – and soon, 15 to 20 people were firing at us in the dark … with handmade guns and AK47s,' he says. The clash, which he thinks lasted no more than 10 minutes, did not bring arrests – the surviving smugglers fled back into Myanmar, where Thai soldiers cannot follow. But the troops seized 15 rucksacks of drugs, with three million methamphetamine pills inside. Despite record low prices amid a flooded market, this haul would still have been worth as much as $8.1 million (£5.9m) if sold in Thailand, where a single tablet costs between 80 cents and $2.7 (between 50p and £2), according to the UNODC report. Prices are as low as 60 cents in Myanmar, but jump to $19.3 per tablet in China, and $50 in South Korea. In another incident in March, soldiers and police at one of the countless checkpoints dotted across Chiang Rai region intercepted 1,500kg of crystal meth concealed inside oil barrels in a military-style vehicle with a fake number plate. In Thailand, the average per gram price is $24 – making this shipment alone worth some $36 million. At the Pha Mueng Forces' military headquarters in Chiang Rai, Colonel Anywach Punyanum says drug trafficking 'has grown exponentially' in recent years – with 52 million methamphetamine tablets, 723kg of ice, 20kg of opium and 5.3kg of heroin seized between October and April. 'In the past, to catch like 100,000 methamphetamine tablets was a big deal. Now we catch more than a million pills, and it's just a normal day,' he says. 'It's getting a lot worse.' It's like a game of whack-a-mole. Military units constantly patrol chunks of the border, working with informants to ambush supply routes, often in collaboration with the police. But it's a long, porous border and the smugglers are smart. No matter how much authorities confiscate, the drugs keep coming. 'Countries in the Mekong, especially Thailand, are seizing about the same amount of methamphetamines as we are seeing between Latin America and the United States,' says UNODC's Mr Hofmann. 'But if you look at the capacities, at the resources available to make those seizures, it's very different.' Experts note that there are significant overlaps with the criminal syndicates running scam compounds and illegal online casinos in the region, and there is no obvious way of stopping production of the drugs at source in war-torn Myanmar. 'The volume of drugs being produced and coming across [the Thai-Myanmar border] is almost never-ending. The nature of synthetic drugs means that they're very easily producible, easily replaceable, and relatively cheap to manufacture,' says Mr Hofmann. Two changes could help tackle the issue: cutting off the chemicals going into Myanmar that are used in the production process; and resolving the insecurities plaguing Myanmar. But neither seem likely. 'It doesn't matter how well you organise a response on the Thai side, it is very difficult to see the same happening on the Myanmar side. So finding a solution to the situation in Myanmar needs to be part of the solution for the drug issues this region faces,' says Mr Hofmann. 'But at the end of the day, this is a supply driven market – drug traffickers steer the supply, but people somewhere are using these vast volumes of synthetic drugs,' he adds. Exactly how drug use has shifted across the region is not yet well understood, but UNODC says it seems to be increasing in countries along the trafficking routes. In Thailand, for instance, household drug use surveys between 2016 and 2024 suggest methamphetamine tablet use is 'rapidly expanding', the UN agency said. Many of the soldiers on patrol in northern Thailand's mountains have witnessed these issues first-hand. Troops say the damage wrought by drugs at home and abroad is a major motivation for them as they spend long nights hiding in the forest's undergrowth. 'I've seen people in my communities using drugs and hallucinating, or starting to hurt their own family members,' says Lt Ketsopon, as we climb the hill back towards the military trucks after a successful set of drills. 'When I was growing up, I thought being a soldier would be about fighting and battling,' he adds. 'But I think this is an important thing to be a part of; to stop these drugs getting into the country.'
Al Jazeera
29-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Methamphetamine trafficking surges from ‘Golden Triangle' region
Drug production and trafficking are continuing to surge in the infamous 'Golden Triangle', where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned in a new report on the scale of the regional trade in synthetic drugs. The UNODC said a record 236 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized last year in the East and Southeast Asia regions, marking a 24 percent increase in the amount of the narcotic seized compared with the previous year. While Thailand became the first country in the region to seize more than 100 tonnes of methamphetamine in a single year last year – interdicting a total of 130 tonnes – trafficking of the drug from Myanmar's lawless Shan State is rapidly expanding in Laos and Cambodia, the UNODC said. 'The 236 tons represent only the amount seized; much more methamphetamine is actually reaching the market,' the UNODC's acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Benedikt Hofmann, said in a statement. 'While these seizures reflect, in part, successful law enforcement efforts, we are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle, in particular Shan State,' Hofmann said. Transnational drug gangs operating in East and Southeast Asia are also showing 'remarkable agility' in countering attempts by regional law enforcement to crack down on the booming trade in synthetic drugs. Myanmar's grinding civil war, which erupted in mid-2021, has also provided favourable conditions for an expansion of the drug trade. 'Since the military takeover in Myanmar in February 2021, flows of drugs from the country have surged across not only East and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly into South Asia, in particular Northeast India,' the report states. The UNODC's Inshik Sim, the lead analyst for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said countries neighbouring Myanmar are becoming key trafficking routes for drugs produced in the Golden Triangle. 'The trafficking route connecting Cambodia with Myanmar, primarily through Laos PDR, has been rapidly expanding,' Sim said, using the acronym that is part of Laos's official name, the People's Democratic Republic. 'Another increasingly significant corridor involves maritime trafficking routes linking Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Sabah in Malaysia serving as a key transit hub,' he said. Evolving, cell-based transnational organized crime groups based in East and #SoutheastAsia are increasingly adopting technologies across the entire drug supply chain while converging with other organized crime activities. Read more in our latest report: — UNODC Southeast Asia-Pacific (@UNODC_SEAP) May 28, 2025The UNODC report also notes that while most countries in the region have reported an overall increase in the use of methamphetamine and ketamine – a powerful sedative – the number of drug users in the older age group has grown in some nations. 'Some countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, have reported consecutive increases in the number of older drug users, while the number of younger users has declined,' the UNODC report states, adding that the age trend needed to be studied further. The UNODC's Hofmann said the decline in the number of younger drug users admitted for treatment may be due to targeted drug use prevention campaigns. 'It will be key for the region to increase investment in both prevention and supply reduction strategies,' he added.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Southeast Asia's illicit methamphetamine trade is at a record high, the UN says
The illicit trade in methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs is growing by leaps and bounds in Southeast Asia, with record levels of seizures serving as an indicator of the scale, U.N experts on the drug trade said in a new report Wednesday. Methamphetamine seizures, primarily in Southeast Asia, totaled 236 tons in 2024, a 24% increase over 2023. The increase applied to both crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine tablets, the latter priced for a mass market, going for as little as U.S. $0.60 apiece in Myanmar. About 1 billion tablets were seized last year in Thailand. 'The sustained flood of methamphetamine to markets in the region has been driven by industrial-scale production and trafficking networks operated by agile, well-resourced transnational organized criminal groups,' says the report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC. 'We are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle, in particular Myanmar's Shan State," Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative, said in a statement. The 'Golden Triangle,' where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, is famous for the production of opium and heroin, which flourished largely because the remote location and lax law enforcement. In recent decades, methamphetamine has supplanted it because it is easier to make on an industrial scale. Myanmar's civil war fueled trafficking growth What has turbocharged growth of the methamphetamine trade has been the political situation in Myanmar, where the army's February 2021 seizure of power has led to civil war. That has caused the flow of drugs to surge 'across not only East and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly into South Asia, in particular Northeast India,' the new report says. At the same time in Myanmar 'there is a degree of stability in certain parts of the country, especially those known for large-scale synthetic drug production,' Hofmann said, adding that the combination has 'created favorable conditions for the expansion of drug production." The report says traffickers have diversified routes to markets, both within Southeast Asia and beyond. Drugs are increasingly trafficked from Myanmar to Cambodia, mostly through Laos, as well as though maritime routes 'linking Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Sabah in Malaysia serving as a key transit hub.' Other drugs enter from beyond the region The report says some drugs enter the region from outside, including the 'Golden Crescent,' another major drug production area covering remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and eastern Iran. Crystal methamphetamine from the Golden Crescent has been found in Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, as well as in Japan and South Korea. North America has been the origin for methamphetamine found in Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea, involving trafficking by Mexican cartels, the report says. Traffickers have 'shown business acumen by leveraging digital tools and emerging technologies to facilitate and profit from the illicit trade in synthetic drugs,' it says, and some trafficking groups infiltrate legitimate businesses or set up front companies. One major development is the growing convergence between trafficking organized crime groups and those offering services such as underground banking, the report says.
