Myanmar soldiers raided a series of drug processing rooms in Shan state, collecting drugs and equipment worth more than $ 27 million.

Myanmar's army launched a raid operation in the town of Kutkai in Shan state, eastern part of the country after receiving classified information. They found a total of 33 kilograms of heroin, 18 million synthetic pills, 281 barrels of acid and many other equipment for making drugs in an underground bunker.

"This is the biggest drug arrest since the beginning of the year," an unnamed officer in the Myanmar anti-drug force said.

Myanmar is considered the largest producer of methamphetamine (ice drug) in the world, bringing in billionaires every year. The majority of the facilities are located in Shan State, where poppy-filled hills help conceal a number of drug-processing factories.

Methamphetamine is then shipped to markets such as Japan, South Korea and Australia. A UN study estimates Myanmar criminal gangs earn more than $ 60 billion a year from drugs, even higher because they employ sophisticated smuggling and money laundering methods to bypass local officials. .

Last year, Myanmar seized drugs totaling $ 374 million.