In Myanmar, this criminal practice is commonly known as Toh Say. It refers to an assault in which a perpetrator secretly exposes a victim to a psychoactive drug—using methods such as injecting a drug-filled syringe—and then robs or exploits the victim while they are under the influence.

Stories of Toh Say victims have occasionally surfaced on social media in Myanmar. Most recently, a case involving a young woman who was drugged, manipulated, but managed to escape went viral. The incident occurred in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, which was once regarded as one of the most peaceful and secure places in the country.

Toh Say takes many forms, but the common aim is to expose a victim to psychoactive drugs, often ketamine, methoxetamine, salvia divinorum, dextromethorphan, or phencyclidine, so the perpetrator can rob, coerce, or otherwise exploit the person, even if they are not fully unconscious.

These methods include attempting to make the victim accidentally inhale the powder, sprinkling it into food or drink, or injecting it with a needle when the victim is distracted. Once exposed to Toh Say, effects can appear within seconds. The victim may experience symptoms such as partial loss of consciousness, temporary disconnection between mind and body, brief memory loss for events during the affected period, and a sensation of heaviness in the body.

So, referring to Toh Say as ‘covert drugging’ is likely a suitable translation. In medical terms, the substances used in these crimes are classified as dissociatives.

Taunggyi had previously been unfamiliar with Toh Say-related crimes. However, such incidents reportedly began to emerge after the junta staged the coup in 2021.

Analysis of the incidents shows that perpetrators often use covert drugging methods, primarily targeting young and elderly women.

Dissociatives used by criminals can produce a partial loss of awareness and control, making victims easier to manipulate. Criminals exploit these psychoactive drugs to carry out robberies, abduct children, and sexually exploit women.

On September 23, a 25-year-old woman from Taunggyi was exposed to Toh Say and, upon regaining consciousness, found herself locked in a warehouse in the forest near Taung Lay Lone Village in Taunggyi Township. She managed to escape on September 24.

She recalled noticing that someone had injected her with what felt like a needle, and within seconds her entire body went numb and she blacked out. “I don’t really remember exactly what happened. My body felt numb, and I was just doing whatever someone told me to do. When the drug wore off and I fully woke up, I heard girls crying nearby. I ran away in fear,” she said.

On September 7, a 16-year-old girl went missing while traveling from her home in Kalaw Town, southern Shan State, to visit her grandmother. She was not heard from until early October. There are suggestions that her disappearance may be connected to Toh Say.

When her parents, devastated by her disappearance, posted information online, fraudsters contacted them, falsely claiming to have kidnapped the girl and demanding a ransom.

“We got so many calls saying that my daughter had been kidnapped. They told us they’d release her if we paid a certain amount of money. At a time when we were already so worried, these fraudsters were just trying to take advantage of us,” said the girl’s mother.

If such missing-person cases are reported to the police under the junta’s control, they provide no assistance or take any action, and families who are already devastated are often blamed by the police.

The aftermath of Toh Say-related disappearances also raises questions, including whether the victims were trafficked or kidnapped.

Before, Toh Say stories were treated like rumors and no one really believed them, but now I can’t completely deny them,” said Ma Nan Nan, a 30-year-old resident of Taunggyi.

Ma Nan Nan, a 30-year-old resident of Taunggyi, said that Toh Say stories were once treated as rumors that no one took seriously, but she can no longer completely dismiss them.

“The stories about Toh Say are getting harder to tell if they’re true or not. Lately, we’ve been hearing about people going missing, and many of them are young women,” she told Shan Herald.

Ma Nan Nan also noted that the majority of victims in Toh Say-related crimes, such as fraud and robbery, tend to be young girls and elderly women.

Since the enactment of the conscription law, the junta has increasingly abducted young men, and in some cases women, for military service. There have even been instances where soldiers have entered young men’s homes to arrest them.

When the disappearances occurred, most people first assumed they were connected to the junta’s conscription drive, but when the case of a young girl abducted using Toh Say and locked in a warehouse came to light, it was truly shocking, Ma Nan Nan added.

“In the past, missing-person cases were usually assumed to be because of the junta’s abductions. But now, that’s not the only reason. Some could be kidnappings by unscrupulous people for human trafficking, and there could also be cases of young women going missing that the public doesn’t even know about yet,” she said.

Reports are increasingly emerging in Taunggyi of fraudsters using Toh Say to target and rob young and elderly women.

On September 22, a 60-year-old woman in Nanghu Village, Taunggyi Township, was approached by a couple selling lottery tickets. They handed her a package, claiming she had won the lottery. When she opened it, she noticed a strong odor and briefly lost control. During that time, the woman unknowingly handed the couple 50,000 MMK and a pair of earrings, according to one of her relatives.

“These fraudsters were watching the villages, looking for possible victims. They carried out the crime when they saw that the woman was home alone. There have already been three similar cases in the village, and now strangers aren’t allowed to enter,” the source said.

A 30-year-old local warned that he often hears reports of robberies and pickpocketing in Taunggyi following victims’ exposure to Toh Say or dissociatives, and that in some cases, the incidents could escalate to life-threatening levels.

“Now we don’t even know who to fear. Toh Say victims say that when they went to the police, they didn’t get any help, and in some cases, they were even extorted. So, most people don’t bother filing a case after going through this kind of crime. Living in a country without the rule of law is really dangerous,” he told Shan Herald.

Women’s rights activists have noted that since the coup, women’s daily lives have faced growing challenges, and incidents of sexual violence have been increasing steadily.

Ma Hnin Hnin, an official of the Pa-O Women’s Union (PWU), commented that gender-based violence has been on the rise since 2021, the year the coup occurred.

“The weakening rule of law is just favoring the perpetrators. Without proper action, keeping women safe is becoming increasingly difficult,” she said.

She emphasized that protecting women’s safety is the responsibility of society as a whole, and as long as perpetrators are allowed to act with impunity, women’s physical and mental well-being will remain at serious risk.

She stressed that safeguarding women’s safety is a responsibility shared by all of society, and as long as perpetrators continue to act with impunity, women’s mental and physical security will remain severely threatened.