Illicit amphetamine industry knows no bounds, UN says

The amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) industry has pioneered new manufacturing bases and trade routes over the past five years, clinching its position as the world's second most popular drug after cannabis, a United Nations report revealed Tuesday.

"Over the past five years, ATS manufacture has spread to new regions which previously reported little or no manufacture," the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's 2011 Global ATS Assessment report said.

"ATS are attractive to millions of drug users in all regions of the world because they are affordable, convenient to the user and often associated with a modern and dynamic lifestyle."

The UN's last assessment on the illicit production and trade in ATS, including ecstasy and methamphetamines, was published in 2008.

The illicit manufacture of methamphetamines in South-East Asia has continued apace despite a significant rise in seizures from 32 million pills in 2008 to 133 million last year.

While  remains the main source of methamphetamine production, new bases have emerged.//DPA