Southern Shan State, Myanmar – In southern Shan State, Tian Win Nang, a young opium farmer, highlights the grim reality of his trade, balancing raw opium worth around $250 per kilogram as armed conflict intensifies the drug trade. Farmers, often shielded from the sun, harvest opium from poppy fields, with the processed product making its way to labs for heroin production, a situation exacerbated by the military’s involvement and alliances with drug syndicates like Sam Gor. Despite high-profile arrests, the methamphetamine trade flourishes, with over 1.1 billion pills seized in 2023, indicating the region’s ongoing role in the global drug market.
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