Burma migrant workers high on 'Asean'
migrant workers in southern Thailand have begun concocting a new homemade drug that they call "Asean", made of heroin, amphetamines and milk, Thai police said Friday.
The name "Asean" -- after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is meeting in the Philippines this weekend -- caught on among the Burma migrants, although police were at a loss to explain why.
The exact recipe varies, but Asean is sold in small bottles for about Bt30 and can include extra ingredients ranging from cough syrup to crushed mosquito coils, police said.
The cocktail is found mainly in the southern province of Ranong, where fishermen drink it to keep up their energy during long journeys on their trawlers, police said.
"They would not sell this to Thai people," a police official told AFP by telephone, on condition of anonymity.
"I've seen them sip it, and then they can work tirelessly until the drugs run out. Most are workers on fishing trawlers," the official said.
People working long hours on the boats will drink up to two bottles a day, he added.
Up to 50,000 registered Burmese migrant workers live in Ranong, on the Andaman Sea. Agence France Presse
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