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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Health
Kevin Doyle

UN says organised crime shifting drugs routes in Southeast Asia

Police officers stand behind seized crystal methamphetamine during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 1, 2023 [Sakchai Lalit/AP]

The synthetic drugs market in Southeast and East Asia is becoming more diverse, the United Nations has warned, and drug trafficking syndicates are using new smuggling routes to ship large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs throughout the region.

Close to 151 tonnes of methamphetamine was seized in Southeast and East Asia last year, as well as a record 27.4 tonnes of ketamine, marking a 167 percent increase in the seizure of the powerful sedative compared to 2021, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Friday.

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