July 24: Yangon: Myanmar authorities seized 5.5 million amphetamine-type stimulant pills in a raid on a northern village, state media reported Saturday, just weeks after one of the country’s biggest heroin busts.

Intelligence officers acting on a tip-off searched Laukkai township in northern Shan state on July 4 and seized the tablets along with 28 kilos (62 pounds) of ephedrine, an ingredient used in the production of amphetamines, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

Police arrested Sit Laung Chein for possession of the pills, it said. No further details were provided.

The report comes 10 days after police announced the seizure of more than 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of heroin in southern Myanmar that was being trafficked by boat.

Myanmar is part of the Golden Triangle drug producing area which includes parts of Laos and Thailand and is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of opium.

The United Nations said earlier this year that opium production in Myanmar had been slashed by two-thirds since 1996, but booming trafficking in methamphetamines remains a major concern.