- Cambodian authorities have destroyed more than seven tonnes of illegal drugs and their ingredients.
- Of the substances destroyed, 4.1 tonnes were drugs, including heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine.
- Gen. Meese Billis said the drugs destroyed had a wholesale value of $22.7 million and a street value of nearly $70 million.
Cambodian authorities destroyed more than seven tonnes of illegal drugs and their ingredients on Friday, as anti-drug officials said the best way to combat the illegal trade was to educate the public about its dangers.
About 4.1 tonnes of the goods destroyed were narcotics including heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine seized from traffickers across the country, according to the national anti-narcotics agency, while the remaining 3.2 tonnes were various chemicals and other materials used to manufacture illegal drugs.
Gen. Meeth Bilis, director-general of the counter-narcotics agency, said the drugs, burned in a brick kiln at a ceremony outside the capital, Phnom Penh, had an estimated wholesale value of $22.7 million and a street value of about $70 million. If they had not been seized, he said, they could have affected millions of people.
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He said the best way to combat illegal drugs today is to educate Cambodians from all walks of life about their dangers. Teaching people not to use or traffic illegal drugs is more effective than cracking down on those involved in the crime, he said.
Cambodian police officers burn drugs in a brick kiln during a drug destruction ceremony to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinis)
“You know, if you only take enforcement measures, you have to do it over and over again — let’s say you burn these things this year and then you do it again next year,” he said. “But if you invest in drug education, awareness and protection, you’ll see a decrease in drug activity.”
Mees-Villis said authorities had investigated more than 3,800 drug-related cases in the first five months of the year and arrested more than 10,000 people, including foreigners.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine, has reached record levels in Southeast Asia, posing a major threat to societies in the region.
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“Seizures of crystal methamphetamine in Cambodia have increased annually for the seventh consecutive year and are expected to exceed 1.4 tonnes in 2023, signaling a continuing expansion of the drug’s market in the country,” the UN agency said in a report last month.
“The amount of heroin seized in 2023 doubled. This increase in heroin seizures was observed in multiple countries in East and Southeast Asia and may indicate a resurgence in the region’s heroin market after a decline in seizures in the previous year.”
