Thai Authorities Alarmed By Drug Surge in Golden Triangle

Here’s a Southeast Asian Geo Qeo Quiz:

Name the region that overlaps the boundaries of four Southeast Asian countries: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Much of the heroin that reached American cities back in the 1970s was said to have come from this geographical region.

Nowadays it still has a reputation as a major drug trafficking corrider.

Drugs in the form of methamphetamine pills by the millions, as well as opium and heroin, get smuggled across the borders, and reach cities like Bangkok.

Thai police say there’s been an alarming surge of drug traffic in this region in recent months originating from Burma (or Myanmar). That’s curious given the elections and political reforms taking root in that country.

So take a crack at naming this border region in Southeast Asia.
The answer is the Golden Triangle. The region includes the border area between northern Thailand and Burma.

Burma has generated alot of headlines in recent months. The military junta there has loosened its grip, elections have been held, and democratic reform is well underway.

But there’s also been a worrying development. A surge in drug production. New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller has been investigating the drug surge in the Golden Triangle to find out if the connection between the drug surge and Burma’s political reforms is more than a coincidence.