BANGKOK, January 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Opium planting in the Golden
Triangle, an area situated between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, is
likely to increase to fill the void created by Afghanistan which
was forced to abandon all of its production, a report from the
Thai army warned here Wednesday.
   As the downfall of Afghanistan's Taliban militia resulted in a
drastic decline in opium supply in the world's largest opium-
growing country, Golden Triangle's drug lords are ordering
highlanders there to grow more poppies to fill the gap in global
demand, it said.
   The drop in world opium supply has pushed up the opium price
and the Golden Triangle is likely to take Afghanistan's place as
the largest opium-growing area in the world.
   Thai army has found highlanders there growing poppies out-of-
season with the aid of water sprinklers to boost production. And
it is also possible that producers of methamphetamine pills there
would switch to opium cultivation.
   Thai army officials said they are stepping up the efforts to
wipe out the cultivation of opium poppies, which are used to make
the deadly drug of heroin.
   The army discovered 1,034 hectares of opiums field in the
Golden Triangle last year and destroyed 779 hectares.  Enditem