Myanmar burns opium poppy seeds

Myanmar burns opium poppy seeds

MYANMAR: Military authorities have burned more than 8,500 kilograms of opium poppy seeds, stimulant pills and other drugs in their latest show of determination to stamp out the drug trade, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The event was part of a new drug eradication program named "Project Hell Flower," in which the government persuades opium poppy farmers to swap their seeds for cereals such as rice, wheat and corn, as well as vegetables.

It was not immediately known how much food products the farmers received when they turned in their poppy seeds in the latest exchange.

The drug-burning on Sunday in Myanmar's southern Shan State was the seventh organized in the area since June by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control.

The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention says Myanmar is likely the second biggest opium producer in the world after Afghanistan, with production in 2002 estimated to be 828 metric tons (912 U.S. tons), compared to 1,097 metric tons last year. -- AP