Inside world ‘crime capital’ where heroin lords gamble in ‘underworld Vegas’ & drug addicts glug deadly ‘happy water’
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KNOWN as the Golden Land, it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, boasting unspoilt beaches, majestic mountains and stunning temples. But Myanmar has been plagued by corruption in recent years and has now been named as the world’s organised crime hotspot.
![[A farmer in Myanmar holds harvested opium poppies.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2016-production-opium-myanmar-flourished-962373235.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Since the military coup of 2021, the South East Asian state has become a hotbed for international crime with warlords, human traffickers, drugs syndicates and cyber criminals using the war-torn country as their base. Ravaged by civil war, thousands have been killed, three million displaced and entire towns destroyed.
![[A person injecting heroin into their arm.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/man-injects-heroin-arm-along-962373245.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The country is even home to a whole new city - likened to a mini Las Vegas - where countless new casinos have sprung up, facilitating an illegal gambling network, as well as sophisticated online scam 'factories'. But it wasn't always like that. Most locals adhere to a Burmese religion based around the worship of Nature Spirits which are regularly celebrated in wildly fun festivals.
![[Bags of seized ecstasy pills to be destroyed in Myanmar.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/6a3935c3-c8b4-4586-9f66-0b29002e8306.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
And the country is filled with incredible Buddhist temples, with ancient capital cities like Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa filled with beautiful stupas and pagodas. But with its stunning poppy fields, Myanmar - previously known as Burma - has become a major player in the international drug trade.
![[Seized drugs burning in Yangon, Myanmar.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/48362da4-f3cd-48c9-a3d2-510bc093e803.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
According to the Global Organised Crime Index it is now the world’s second-largest producer of opium, accounting for a quarter of the global supply, and the largest producer of heroin in the region. Mark Farmaner, Director of UK-based charity Advance Myanmar, says the drug trade has being going on for years and has been facilitated by the Burmese Military.
![[Police officers burning confiscated drugs at a ceremony.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bc407632-6596-4693-bdef-f3fbc2d4b5c9.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
