Sri Lanka’s national narcotics abuse problem has a long history of reactive action by the Government, with little being done to address threats before they grow into major challenges. 

Over the last decade, Sri Lanka’s counter narcotics supply efforts have predominantly focused on the heroin/methamphetamine inflows from the ‘Southern route’ via the Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan axis of the ‘Golden Crescent’ region and cannabis inflows from South India, across the Palk Straits.

However, the narcotics industry, like any other, thrives on innovation and change, creating new threats for the Indian ocean island.

One such threat that is looming on the horizon is a methamphetamine tablet which is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture and transport called ‘Yaba’. It is increasingly being trafficked around the coastal states of the Bay of Bengal. Another is ‘Shan,’ a name coined for crystal methamphetamine from the ‘Golden Triangle’ region (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos).

Threat on the horizon – Bay of Bengal 

Over the last two years, Yaba pills have been trafficked in the hundreds of thousands cross-border and across the Bay of Bengal. 

Internal conflicts in Myanmar and cross-border trafficking between Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam have been seen as drivers of Yaba and Shan in the Bay of Bengal region. Yaba has already become a serious narcotics problem in Bangladesh and South East Asia.

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), unlike geographically confined, crop-based drugs, such as opium in Afghanistan or cannabis in South India and Sri Lanka, synthetic drugs like Yaba can be produced anywhere in the world where there are weaknesses in law enforcement and chemical regulations.

The portable and clandestine nature of production also makes it difficult to monitor and assess the situation systematically.

Over the last year, increasing volumes of Yaba pills and Shan have been intercepted by Indian authorities, particularly in states that border Bangladesh, like Assam. Both varieties of the narcotic have also been detected being smuggled in traditional fishing vessels across the Bay of Bengal.

Given that a group of Burmese refugees drifted to Sri Lankan waters recently and the vast expanse of the Bay of Bengal in which Sri Lankan fishermen fish, the risk of Yaba and Shan making landfall may not be a distant possibility.  

Yaba and Shan – a volume business 

According to UNODC Regional Representative to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Jeremy Douglas, production and supply of Shan and Yaba from the Golden Triangle region is at a record level, with the Bay of Bengal used to traffic them to many destinations.

“The regional meth and drug market is really supply driven at this point, with production of Shan in 2021 and 2022 into 2023 off the charts and traffickers dumping supply at a discount or at prices that nobody thought possible a few years ago. Basically it is a volume business at this point. 

“The Bay of Bengal is one of the ways to move and connect supply to larger population markets like Malaysia and Indonesia or the Philippines, or very high value markets where drug prices remain at a premium in global market terms, like Australia, New Zealand, or Japan,” Douglas told The Sunday Morning.

Commenting on the rapid proliferation of Yaba and its popularity, Douglas said that Yaba meth tablets were available practically everywhere in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and northern Malaysia and that they had been showing up in increasing volumes in India near to Myanmar over the past two years. 

“While not as potent as crystal meth, they are cheap, addictive, and harmful and no country wants their youth to start using Yaba,” the UN expert said.

When asked about the possible impact of Yaba and Shan on Sri Lanka due to the wide proliferation in the Bay of Bengal, Douglas opined: “Shan or Golden Triangle crystal meth was seized in 2020 on the coast of Tamil Nadu and massive loads of 1.16 tonnes and just under 400 kg were seized in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India in 2019. Therefore, to see the same or similar in Sri Lanka would not be a surprise.” 

SL – aware and alert? 

When contacted, National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) Chairperson Shakya Nanayakkara told The Sunday Morning that Yaba had not been detected in significant quantities in Sri Lanka to date and that the agency had samples of the pill and some of its variations for comparison testing. 

“We are aware of the risk that Yaba poses. We have some samples of it for testing and comparison. Our laboratories have the capability to test to identify a range of substances, including those used to make Yaba. Up to date, we have not detected any significant volume of Yaba in Sri Lanka, but there have been a few small-scale detections over the years,” Nanayakkara said. 

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Commander Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera acknowledged that the SLN was concerned about the wide proliferation of Yaba and other narcotics in the East Indian Ocean – Bay of Bengal area.

“Yes, there is a noticeable increase in the trafficking of methamphetamine variations/ice from 2020 in the Bay of Bengal region,” V. Adm Perera told The Sunday Morning, adding that the Navy was closely monitoring narcotics trafficking trends in the region, including by keeping tabs on the Drug Abuse Information Network for Asia and the Pacific (DAINAP) database and that of the UNODC.

When asked what was being done to mitigate the risks narcotic trafficking poses to Sri Lanka via the Bay of Bengal, the Navy Commander said: “Drug traffickers are using new trends and methods to bring drugs to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Navy, Coast Guard, and navies which operate in the Arabian sea areas have taken large quantities of methamphetamine into custody in the recent past. Hence the Navy has been more vigilant on the Gulf of Mannar and southern seas. However, we are deploying naval vessels in the high seas covering the Bay of Bengal area and have planned to improve the surveillance in that region, along with coastal surveillance covering the north and northeastern areas.”

Perera added that the Navy was carrying out stakeholder consultations both locally and regionally through the Presidential Task Force established to counter the narcotics trafficking issue.

Low-yield meth

According to Nanayakkara, a majority of methamphetamine samples detected from street-level sales over the last few months in Sri Lanka have indicated that the drugs are being watered down.

“The meth or ice that is being sold now is less potent; it has less purity and therefore drives users to buy more to reach the ‘high’ that they are chasing. Even heroin samples have seen a drop in purity,”  Nanayakkara said.

Nanayakkara maintained that in terms of supply reduction, the law enforcement approach alone would not create a significant dent in Sri Lanka’s narcotics abuse and dependency problem.

“Demand reduction is the way to go; we must educate, help, and rehabilitate. We have changed some of the laws regarding the issue, which is a step in the right direction. More needs to be done. The NDDCB opened a facility recently to provide assistance and support for families of those who are abusing narcotics and those who have become dependent on them. We must help families and communities to support these youth; without support they relapse easily and the cycle continues.”  

Act now 

Against this backdrop, Sri Lankan authorities should be cognisant of emerging threats on the horizon and act quickly to be prepared to tackle them.

If the current trend in narcotics in Sri Lanka is low grade and less pure heroin and methamphetamine, then the likes of Yaba and Shan – which are at present low cost, available in volume, and easy to conceal (pills) – may proliferate quickly if they make landfall.

As Sri Lanka moves towards a slow economic recovery, the last thing an already-strained society needs is a new narcotics crisis which may prey on the youth – a segment of the population which is already in despair and desperate about their future.    

What is ‘Yaba’?

According to the UNODC, ‘Yaba’ or ‘crazy medicine’ in Thai, is a tablet form of methamphetamine and a very powerful stimulant. Yaba is now one of the main forms of methamphetamine abused in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia as well as Vietnam and Myanmar, where it is typically manufactured.

Mixed with caffeine and usually 30% methamphetamine, the drug is a central nervous system stimulant. Although it comes in a pill form, Yaba is usually crushed and smoked. Users get an intense ‘burst’ of energy, followed by increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. Once the effects wear off, the user ‘crashes’ and experiences prolonged periods of sleep and depression.

Like other forms of methamphetamine, long-term abuse of Yaba can produce strong dependence. Users develop tolerance and require increasing amounts of the drug to feel the same effects. Excessive doses can result in convulsions, seizures, and death from respiratory failure, stroke, or heart failure. The drug can trigger aggressive and violent behaviour and psychiatric disorders have also been associated with its use.

Traditionally used by occupational workers such as truck drivers, the use of Yaba in East Asia shifted into youth culture about 10 years ago. Starting in Thailand and spreading into Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Yaba consumers in the region are now estimated in the millions. Recently, the drug has been spreading towards the Indian subcontinent.