The Myanmar junta claimed to have burned about $500 million worth of illicit substances on Monday, but warned they were unable to halt a rise in drug manufacturing and trafficking.
As part of an annual spectacle to commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, correspondents for AFP reported seeing head-high mounds of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and opium burned in the commercial capital Yangon.
Other parts of the nation also saw televised torchings, with junta officials reporting that $446 million worth of drugs were destroyed.