Open Drug Dealing and Usage on Main Roads in Myitkyina

Pajau Media

22 July 2025

Following the collapse of administrative mechanisms, with no responsible government to take accountability, residents report that drug usage and trade have become openly visible, even on the main roads across Myitkyina city.

"Addicts are using drugs right on the main roads. Group usage is especially common near the area in front of the Myitkyina golf course, around the drug rehabilitation center, and between the roads near the surgical ward, which are the worst areas," said one local resident.

It is also reported that in front of the Myitkyina drug addiction treatment hospital, methadone users and organized groups are frequently present, with drug dealing and usage happening openly in this location.

On the other hand, in areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), narcotics are identified as a major enemy and crackdown operations are continuously carried out under the policy guidelines of the Central Anti-Narcotics Department.

In June alone, within KIO-administered areas, 41 drug users and 29 individuals involved in drug trafficking were arrested and detained, according to reports.

Since the military coup in 2021, the government has ceased taking action against drug dealing and usage in major towns and cities, resulting in increasingly open drug-related activities, sources say.

Report – Pilan U