FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has confirmed what to many has been clear for some time – that the production and use of synthetic drugs like amphetamines is widespread and growing globally, particularly in Southeast Asia.

A UNODC report singles out Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia as primary places for production and trafficking. It also notes that seizures of methamphetamine pills across the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased to 133 million in 2010, from 32 million in 2008. Read more in The Diplomat.