Myanmar seizes 53.4 kg of heroin

Myanmar seizes 53.4 kg of heroin

YANGON (Reuters): Myanmar's official news agency said on
Sunday that authorities had seized 53.42 kg of heroin and more
than half a million stimulant tablets in a raid in the north of
the country.

The drugs were seized on Jan. 24 in Tachilek, 1,264 km north
of Yangon, after a tipoff from a "duty conscious" person, the
Myanma News Agency reported. Five people arrested in the raid
would face legal action, it said.

Military-ruled Myanmar has said authorities seized 403 kg of
heroin, 5,394 kg of opium, 380 kg (of marijuana) and more than 16
million stimulant tablets in 1998.

But overseas officials working to stem the flood of narcotics
from Myanmar's refineries have expressed doubt about the
government's commitment to eradicating the menace. Myanmar is one
of the world's leading producers of heroin.