Patterns and trends of amphetamine-type stimulants and other drugs ...

Regional Trends/ East and Southeast Asia
Table 3. Cont. Methamphetamine pill seizures in East and Southeast Asia, 2004 – 2009
Country
Number of methamphetamine pills seized
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Viet Nam 39,467 230,417 62,870 29,679 850,000* 564,515**
Total 42,325,848 24,926,262 39,621,664 25,331,567 31,950,374 94,136,254
= Not reported; * Reported as 60 kg plus 70,000 pills. ** Reported as 500,000 pills and 5.87 kg.
For comparison purposes a transformation ratio of 90 mg per pill was used for bulk pills/ powders.
Sources: DAINAP and multiple resources (see relevant country chapter for details)
Seizures of crystalline methamphetamine showed a decrease in 2009, reported at the lowest levels
in the past six years. The 5.7 metric tons seized during the year represents a 32% decrease
from the 8.3 metric tons seized in 2008. Over the past ve years, the bulk of the crystalline methamphetamine
seizures in the region were made in China. While crystalline methamphetamine
seized in China in 2009 represents a more than 50% decrease over 2008, the gure represents
44% of the total reported seizures in the region during the year. From 2005 to 2008, seizures
of crystalline methamphetamine in China have measured between 5.5 and 6 tons annually and
have accounted for between 66% and 81% of all crystalline methamphetamine seizures in the
region.
Unlike China, not all countries reported a decline in crystalline methamphetamine seized. Seizures
in Malaysia increased 71% in 2009 to 1,160 kg compared with 679 kg in the previous year.
The seizures in 2009 represent the largest amount seized during the reporting period. Myanmar
also reported a substantial increase in crystalline methamphetamine seizures in 2009 with 124
kg seized compared with less than 15 kg seized in 2008. The 2009 seizures in Myanmar are the
highest in the country since 2005. In Thailand, the 209 kg seized in 2009 is nearly four times
higher than the amount seized in the previous year and the highest amount seized since 2005
when a record 317 kg was seized.
Figure 6. Crystalline methamphetamine seizures in East and Southeast
Asia, 2004 – 2009
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
Seizures (kg)
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
2009
Source: DAINAP
Table 4. Crystalline methamphetamine seizures in East and Southeast Asia, 2004 – 2009
Country
Amount of crystalline methamphetamine seized (kg)
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Brunei Darussalam
0.5 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3
Cambodia 2.0 16.2 6.8 1.9 4.6
China 2,746.0 5,500.0 5,946.0 5,863.0 5,523.0 2,518.0
Hong Kong (SAR) 15.7 228.1 6.7 40.8 45.8 43.7
Indonesia 28.4 367.6 1,241.2 492.9 709.9 237.8
Japan 411.3 123.0 144.0 359.0 399.0 356.3
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