Ketamine Seizures in This Country Have Exploded Over the Past Year
Seizures of ket in Cambodia hit 2.7 tonnes in 2021, 24 times higher than the year prior, with drug supplies across Southeast Asia skyrocketing.
by Gavin Butler
Melbourne, AU
June 1, 2022, 11:23am

Throughout the course of 2021, authorities seized a record 2.7 tonnes of ketamine within the borders of Cambodia—almost 15 times the amount seized within the country over the previous five years combined.

The sharp uptick in seizures was revealed in a report published by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday, which noted that Cambodia’s 2.7 tonnes of ket accounted for about half of Southeast Asia’s total. By comparison, in 2020, authorities seized just 112.5 kilograms of the drug; in 2016, they seized a little over a kilo.

“The non-medical use of ketamine from clandestine manufacture remains of concern in the region,” the authors of the report noted. “In 2021, the total amount of ketamine seized in East and Southeast Asia reached nearly 10.3 tonnes.”

While much of the country’s illicit drug supply is typically thought to flow south from the Golden Triangle—a notorious wellspring for the world’s illegal drug trade spanning the borders of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand—UNODC experts believe that most of the sudden abundance of ketamine can be attributed to the illicit manufacture of the substance inside Cambodia itself.

“Ketamine continues to be manufactured in the Golden Triangle. However, Cambodia has been increasingly targeted for illicit synthetic drug production, not only for methamphetamine and ‘ecstasy,’ but ketamine as well,” the report revealed.

These figures come just days after Cambodia’s Anti-Drug Department launched twin drug raids in Phnom Penh and Kampong Speu, cracking down on a secret drug processing laboratory, arresting four Taiwanese nationals, and confiscating more than 1,400 kilograms of synthetic substances*. The seized materials included 40 kilograms of ketamine, 1,425 kilograms of ketamine mixture, 0.9 grams of methamphetamine tablets, and 11 tonnes of chemical compound.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgde9j/ ... bodia-rise

From CEO thread : Shootout as Largescale Illegal Drug Production Found in Warehouse
newsworthy/largescale-illegal-drug-prod ... 47741.html

Well life in prison or deported to face the death penalty if caught doesn't seem to slow them down.