Hopong, 10 January

Police have destroyed poppy fields near Htamh E Village in Hopong Township, located in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State, at 6:30 a.m. on 9 January, according to the Myanmar Police Force.

A combined team, including Police Captain Htay Aung, the secretary of the Township Administration Body, Police Sub-Inspector Sai Min Aung, and members of the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone Police Command, as well as officers from the Taunggyi Anti-Drugs Squad-25, Tatmadaw personnel from Hopong, and officials from the Township General Administration Department, Agriculture Department, Fire Services Department, Department of Land Records, Department of Forests, and Department of Health, jointly eradicated 11 acres of blooming poppies, each about three feet tall. The fields were located approximately four furlongs east of Htamh E Village.

The destruction of poppy plantations in Hopong Township began on 16 December of the previous year. As of 9 January this year, a total of 122 acres of opium plantations have been eradicated, with additional poppy fields set to be destroyed.—IPRD

Translated by JT