Illiciet Trade

A tribal woman and her child wait as the ball of opium they are selling is examined by a Chinese trader in the Mong Pawk market in the Wa autonomous region in northeastern Myanmar on April 28. Wa leaders have set a ban on opium to start in June next year in the Golden Triangle region to try and kick their people's addiction and dependence on the crop. A kilogram of opium nets the seller US$214.75.May 08, 2004

PHOTO: EPA