Singapore urged Southeast-Asian countries yesterday to crack down on an alarming rise in the use of speed, ecstasy and other synthetic drugs in the region.
The number of people in the world taking ecstasy, speed and other amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) increased by 11 million last year, and most of the growth was in Southeast Asia, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee said at the start of a training program in Singapore for the Association of South East Asian Nations Officials on Drug Matters.. He was citing a UN report issued last year.
"What is more alarming is that the rise in ATS abusers came mainly from Southeast Asia. The rapid rise in ATS abuse is indeed a cause for concern," he said.
Australia's national police chief said in June that Australia was being flooded with ecstasy from Europe and speed from Asia.
About 1.3 tonnes of amphetamine-type drugs were seized in Australia in the first half of this year, from around 300kg the year before.
A top concern for authorities has been Thailand, Myanmar and Laos that together form the notorious "Golden Triangle" drugs producing region, a supplier of narcotics to dealers and addicts in the US and Europe.
Methamphetamines, known in Thai as ya ba or crazy medicine, are a social scourge among Thais. Thai authorities say almost half a million youngsters had been regularly using the drug.
"While countries need to strengthen our enforcement and intelligence capabilities to deal with drug traffickers, we must remember that international and regional co-operation is also important because of the transnational nature of the drug trade," Ho said.
Arrests of first-time drug offenders in Singapore hit a five-year high last year.
Those caught with synthetic drugs rose by more than 50 percent from 2001, a report by Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau showed this year.
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