The event was held to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Shan State police held a ceremony in Taunggyi on Wednesday to burn various drugs seized in both Kayah and Shan states to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The fire was located at the Awaiyar hot air balloon launching grounds, and was the ninth such event of its kind in as many years.

“In general, poppy production has reduced in Shan State. But, illicit drug production [from chemicals] has dramatically increased,” police Brig-Gen Zaw Khin Aung said in his opening speech.

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The estimated value of the narcotics destroyed in Shan State on June 26 was US$134 million. In the 2018 ceremony, it was $109, down from $134 in 2017. In 2016, $31 million worth of drugs were burned, and $82 million in 2015.

So far this year, police have arrested nearly 1,200 people in 860 narcotics-related cases in the state. The total last year was nearly 4,000 people in 2,886 cases. In 2017 it was 3,330 in 2,434 cases, and 3,874 people in 2,516 cases in 2016. There were 3,122 people arrested in 2015 involved in 2,263 cases.