Side effects: AEC ‘could open drugs floodgates’
Police seized more than 54 kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine in the border province of Stung Treng in June – one of the biggest drug busts in the country’s history. Analysts caution that large drug busts like this will only become more common as Cambodia opens its borders after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) launches later this year.
The free trade promised by the AEC will make it easier for businesses to move goods between countries in the region, but analysts say it could have the unwanted side effect of enabling drug traffickers to more easily smuggle heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine through Cambodia.
