The head of the Maungdaw Township police confirmed that an anti-narcotics task force confiscated more than 4.6 million methamphetamine pills from a Buddhist monk on Sunday.
Monk Arsara, a respected leader at the monastery—located in the western town of Maungdaw—was busted while driving towards the Bangladesh border by members of Myanmar’s anti-drug task force who had received an anonymous tip off.
He was transporting some 400, 000 methamphetamine tablets, as well as hundreds of dollars’ worth of local currency, in his car. The police then visited Arsara’s monastery and discovered another 4.2 million pills, along with a grenade and some other ammunition. The pills would be worth more than $4 million on the street.
According to The Irrawaddy, this seizure is the first time that police in Maungdaw have arrested a monk for drug dealing.
Myanmar is one of the most Buddhist nations in the world, with around 48 million practising citizens. It is also one of Southeast Asia’s largest narcotics producers, known for funnelling large quantities of opium, cannabis, and methamphetamine to neighbouring countries.