More than 16-thousand kilograms of narcotics went up in smoke in Thailand, to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Thai authorities are struggling to curb the massive flow of drugs, especially meth, coming across its borders. Dusita Saokaew has more.

It's a place where few cameras are allowed, a place where millions of dollars worth of contraband are stored at any given time.

Heavily armed officers stand guard, a door made of thick steel, a combination lock only a selected few know to crack. Inside, shelves stacked floor to ceiling with cardboard boxes. The smell is potent enough to make you dizzy.

It provides a glimpse of Thailand's drug trade. Details about where and how the drugs stored are as fiercely protected as the drugs themselves. But today, this government warehouse serves as a pit-stop for drugs intercepted by authorities before they get destroyed.

It's Thailand's annual drug bonfire. As $650 million worth of narcotics pile up- heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, crystal meth. But more than all the others combined, methamphetamine pills or yaba, boxes and boxes of it. It's public enemy number one.

DUSITA SAOKAEW AYUTTHAYA, THAILAND "Experts believe that law enforcement confiscates only 10 percent of total drug production in this region. All the drugs you see here are only a drop in the ocean compared to the enormous wave of synthetic drugs surging into Thailand every day. With a near infinite supply across the border, new routes for drugs to move, a rising demand, this is a fight authorities seem powerless to stop."

When it comes to favorable geography required for a thriving drug trade, Southeast Asia has been particularly blessed. The Golden Triangle, bordering north-eastern Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has a long history of illicit drug trafficking.

WICHAI CHAIMONGKOL DEPUTY CHIEF, OFFICE OF NARCOTICS CONTROL BOARD "Meth can be produced all the time, since it is chemical based, not plant based. Shipments are more frequent and their quantity is increasing."

On the streets, prices are plunging- evidence of a huge oversupply from the meth lords who have slashed costs by using cheaper chemicals and raw materials. A decade ago, a yaba pill was around $7, now around $2.

Addicts like Aun are rejoicing. Yaba is the drug of choice for laborers like him. These small colorful pills gives users a burst of energy, allowing many, particularly those employed in demanding labor to feel charged for hours at a time.

AUN DRUG ADDICT "The first thing I do every morning is to find enough money to buy drugs. I don't care much about food. I need drugs to energize me, to give me strength to get through the day."

For Aun, this is a love affair that keeps on giving. Yaba is everywhere. Cheaper and more pure than ever before. And as these small pills continue to wreak havoc on society, visions of a new approach in tackling this drug crisis are as hazy as the clouds of smoke that fills the air, as desperate as an addict in search of their next fix.

Dusita Saokaew, CGTN, Ayutthaya, Thailand.