Myanmar will launch a nationwide war against drugs next month, targeting the production and distribution of narcotics, an officer with an anti-drug taskforce in Yangon said.
Sub Major Khin Maung Thein of the West Yangon District anti-drug special taskforce told Mizzima that the number of drug-suppression taskforces will more than double, from the current 24 to 50.
He said the expansion will begin next month and that veteran officers are being recruited to fill the new posts. Additional taskforces will be deployed in Yangon and Mandalay Regions, and in Rakhine and Shan States, Khin Maung said.
The number of taskforces in Yangon Region will triple, from two to six, and the number of officers on each taskforce will rise to 45 from a current combined total of 40, the officer said.
The airport and the port area will have their own taskforces and police are negotiating with port authorities to deploy anti-drug officers there, he added.
“The taskforce in Mandalay will focus on eliminating trafficking of ecstasy tablets from Kalay [in India] and [Sagaing Region’s] Tamu Township,” Khin Maung Thein continued.
In August, President Thein Sein signed off on a request from the Home Ministry to expand drug-suppression efforts.
