The
Golden Triangle (, ; , ;
Vietnamese:
Tam giác Vàng; ) is one of
Asia's two main illicit
opium-producing areas. It is an area of around 367,000 square miles (950,000 km<sup>2</sup>) that overlaps the mountains of four countries of
Southeast Asia:
Burma,
Vietnam,
Laos, and
Thailand. Along with
Afghanistan in the
Golden Crescent and
Pakistan, it has been one of the most extensive opium-producing areas of
Asia and of the world since the 1920s. Most of the world's
heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world's largest producer..
. February 4, 2003.
The Golden Triangle also designates the confluence of the
Ruak River and the
Mekong river, since the term has been appropriated by the Thai tourist industry to describe the nearby junction of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.
Production
Burma is the world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after
Afghanistan and has been a significant cog in the transnational drug trade since
World War II. According to the
UNODC it is estimated that in 2005 there wеrе 167 square miles (275 km<sup>2</sup>) of opium cultivation in Burma..
. October 23, 2005. The surrender of drug warlord
Khun Sa's
Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by
Yangon as a major...
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