Myanmar burns seized drugs worth £350m as illicit trade booms

A police walks past while smokes and flames billow from burning illegal narcotics during a destruction ceremony marking International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on the outskirts of Yangon (AP)

Authorities in Myanmar have destroyed drugs worth more than 446 million dollars (£350 million) seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day, police said.

The destruction came as UN experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in south and south-east Asia.