Thick, black smoke billowed into the sky on the outskirts of Myanmar's largest city, Rangoon (Yangon), on Friday as more than 50 tons of drugs were set on fire in front of invited spectators: heroin, opium, ketamine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Similar bonfires were seen in several places around the country. In total, authorities say seized drugs with a market value of almost six billion kronor have been destroyed.
Myanmar has long been a leading producer of narcotics intended primarily for markets in East and Southeast Asia.
Decades of armed conflict, combined with political and economic instability, are cited as underlying factors in the growing illicit drug trade.
