(Part 1)

Civil strife has turned Myanmar’s Shan State into a crystal methamphetamine hub. The richer the traffickers get, the harder the underlying conflicts will be to resolve. Instead of targeting minor offenders, the military should root out corruption, including among top brass, and disarm complicit paramilitaries.

That’s the verdict of a damning report released this year by the International Crisis Group (ICG) that we examine here in a 3-part series.

“Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar’s Shan State” investigates the state of illegal drug production and trafficking in the northeast of Myanmar.

Shan State has long been a centre of conflict and illicit drug production – initially heroin, then methamphetamine tablets. Good infrastructure, proximity to precursor supplies from China and safe haven provided by pro-government militias and in rebel-held enclaves have also made it a major global source of high purity crystal meth.

The state is caught up in a vicious vortex -drug production and profits are now so vast that they dwarf the formal sector of Shan State and are at the centre of its political economy. This greatly complicates efforts to resolve the area’s ethnic conflicts and undermines the prospects for better governance and inclusive economic growth in the state, according to the report.

The ICG report seeks to lay out the facts and recognize how deep the problem is.

“Drug production and profits are now so vast that they dwarf the formal sector of Shan State and are at the centre of its political economy. This greatly complicates efforts to resolve the area’s ethnic conflicts and undermines the prospects for better governance and inclusive economic growth in the state,” according to the report.

Part 2 – Myanmar’s drug haven sees a surge in production

Part 3 - Wrangling for the drug spoils