THAI authorities seized 200kg of crystal meth hidden inside a replica Easter Island statue awaiting shipment to Taiwan, said police today.

Southeast Asia’s so-called Golden Triangle – the notorious border region of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand – has long been an infamous hotspot for drug production and trafficking.

Thai drugs officers working with Taiwanese police raided a shipping company in the port city of Laem Chabang, some 50km southeast of Bangkok, and examined six statue heads made from cement and metal frames.

They used an angle grinder, hammers and chisels to cut a hole in one statue, uncovering the drugs hidden inside in plastic bags, according to footage shown in local media.

Royal Thai Police foreign affairs division commander Khemmarin Hassiri said the drugs were due to be shipped to Taiwan.

The statues were originally transported to Thailand from Taiwan for an exhibition in late 2020.

Police sought arrest warrants for Thai and Taiwanese drug suspects connected to the statues.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regional representative Jeremy Douglas said the haul is “no surprise”.

“Trafficking connections between syndicates active in the Mekong, including Thailand, and Taiwan are longstanding and strong.

“Taiwan is a destination market, particularly for meth and ketamine, but is also a trans-shipment point for Japan and other parts of East Asia.”

The seizure comes after a UN report published last month said a record one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year.

The report also said 79 tonnes of crystal meth were seized across the region in the same period.

Myanmar’s northern state of Shan remains the region’s primary source of methamphetamine.

Experts said meth production is at unprecedented levels and has been exacerbated by the coup in Myanmar in February last year, which has paralysed the economy and livelihoods.

Myanmar’s lawlessness provides ideal conditions for illicit drug labs to flourish, with a largely unchecked supply of precursor chemicals flooding in from China. – AFP, June 9, 2022.