Three suspects arrested with drugs worth K2.488 billion in Yangon

YANGON – A total of K2.488 billion worth of psychotropic drugs were seized along with three suspects in Ma Yan Gone, Dagon Township (Seik Kan), and Thanlyin townships within Yangon Region, according to statements from the Anti-Narcotics Police Force under the interim government. According to the news, a joint team, on July 26, around 1 p.m., while searching Ko Htike Kyaw, 37, who was walking in Ward 3, Ma Yan Gone Township, initially found and seized Happy Water worth K2.7 million, 10 grams of Ketamine, and 10 tablets of Ecstasy. Continuing the investigation based on the confessions of the arrested Ko Htike Kyaw, at 3 p.m. on the same day, Sithu Kyaw, 39, was further arrested in Ward 93, Dagon Township (Seik Kan) with 500 grams of Ketamine worth K300 million. In addition, at 6 p.m. on the same day, Hla Thandar, 35, was arrested in Phayargone Village, Thanlyin Township, with 4,300 tablets of Ecstasy worth K2.15 billion, as another link in the chain. Since the military coup in Myanmar, the rule of law has declined, and psychotropic drugs such as Happy Water, Ecstasy, and Ketamine have become prevalent in some major cities, including Yangon, and are being widely used and traded among youth, according to local residents and drug monitoring groups. Currently, the three arrested individuals, Ko Htike Kyaw, Sithu Kyaw, and Hla Thandar, along with the psychotropic drugs, have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law at their respective police stations, and the police force has announced that efforts are underway to identify other accomplices involved in the incident.