The Mon State Police Force has handled 213 drug cases and arrested 337 people in the Mon State from January 1 to August 14 this year, Police Major Myint Win from the State Police Force said.
Statistics from the State Police Force show that the state police force has nabbed 199 methamphetamine cases, five ICE cases, three marijuana cases, six Kratom leaf cases, and other drug cases and the total value of the seized drugs was worth over Ks 13.065 trillion.
“No matter how many arrests our anti-narcotic task force has made, [drugs] still exist. They will not be eradicated as long as the entire public believes drug eradication tasks are not concerned with them,” said the police major.
The majority of the Mon State’s drug seizures have been made in Ye Township, followed by Mawlamyine and Thaton townships in the second and third places, the police major continued.
Min Soe Myint, a Mon youth, believes politics is the reason behind the rise in drug use year by year.
“The majority of the drug manufacturers are ceasefire armed groups. Why doesn’t the government try to annihilate it even though it knows that the armed groups are manufacturing the drugs? The armed organizations have low income. There are organizations that have to rely on drugs for their survival,” said Min Soe Myint.
He continued that youths need to use their own abilities to break away from the drug world, build their capacities, and get job opportunities.
According to the Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO)’s report on drugs titled “Youth Danger”, drug use in the Mon State rose from 38 percent in 2013 to 73 percent in 2017-2018.
The Mon State government’s report stated that over half of the prisoners in Mawlamyine Prison have been incarcerated on drug charges.
