Cambodia burns $70 million of seized illegal drugs while urging public education about their danger

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian authorities have destroyed more than seven tons of illicit drugs and the ingredients for them, as a drug-fighting official said educating people about their danger is the best way of combating the illegal trade. The country’s National Authority for Combating Drug said the destroyed drugs included heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine that had been confiscated from traffickers across the country. It said the drugs burned Friday had an estimated street value of nearly $70 million. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine, are at record highs in Southeast Asia and pose a major threat to its societies.