Myanmar's opium poppy cultivation has hit a decade-record level, the United Nations warned Wednesday, with early indications its heroin output is now being trafficked to Western markets.

War-ravaged Myanmar is a hive of black market activity ranging from illegal mining to internet scamming and the manufacture of illicit drugs like methamphetamine and heroin.

The nation has long ranked among the world's top opium poppy producers, claiming the top spot after a 2022 Taliban government crackdown crushed the trade in Afghanistan.

Analysts say illicit activities are key income sources funding the civil war which has racked Myanmar since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup.

This year, opium poppies were farmed on more than 53,000 hectares (131,000 acres) of Myanmar's soil, a UN Office

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