Chemicals in, Meth out: Asia's Golden Triangle Drug Trade Goes Into Overdrive

BANGKOK, THAILAND - A large haul of precursor chemicals in Laos since the end of last year has revealed` the new recipe being used by the methamphetamine cooks of Asia and the routes crime groups are using to get raw materials from Chinese factories, through Thai ports and into the narcotics labs of the Golden Triangle.

Meth production in the region has gone into overdrive since Myanmar’s February 1 military coup unsettled the complex balance of power in the Golden Triangle, an area dominated by warlords, armed militias, gunrunners and drug traffickers, say law enforcement officials. Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are within this mountainous corner. Laos and Myanmar share a border with China.