A record one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, the UN says, as crime gangs exploited the Covid-19 pandemic and instability in coup-hit Myanmar to boost their activities. Kavinvadee Suppapongtevasakul, UNODC regional synthetic drugs analyst for the global SMART programme, says the drug's plummeting prices had led to "greater accessibility ... especially among younger people who might not have had the purchasing power before now." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES