Drugs in Shan State

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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized 70 kilograms of heroin in Shan state, according to a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, a joint police force confiscated heroin worth one billion kyats (750,750 U.S. dollars) from a vehicle along with one suspect in Tachilek township on Monday. The township police filed a case against the suspect and further investigation was underway as per the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, the release said. According to a latest release issued by the President's Office, a total of 1,498 drug-related cases were registered across Myanmar while 2,293 people were charged in connection with the cases as of Jan. 9 this year, since the formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department on June 26, 2018..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2021-01-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-15
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Description: "Myanmar authorities confiscated 711,000 stimulants, worth over 1.4 billion kyats (over 1 million U.S. dollars) in Shan state, according to a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, a joint-police force made the seizure at a house in Mabein Township on Friday. Two suspects were also arrested. The township police filed a case against the suspects and further investigation is underway under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, the release said. According to a recent release issued by the President's Office, a total of 1,169 drugs related cases were registered across Myanmar while 1,811 people were charged in connection with the cases as of June 6 this year, since the formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department in 2018..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-06-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-13
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large haul of stimulants and methamphetamine (ICE) in Shan state, according to a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Sunday. Acting on tip-offs, the anti-narcotic police force stoped and searched a car travelling to Moe Mate township from Mantong township on Saturday, and 168,000 stimulants worth 336 million kyats (240,000 U.S. dollars) were confiscated from the car along with one suspect. The township police filed a case against the suspect and further investigation is underway under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, the release said. On Friday, 124 kg of methamphetamine (ICE) and 248,000 stimulants were seized from a car in Ywangan township of the same state. According to a latest release issued by the President's Office, a total of 1,123 drug-related cases were registered across Myanmar while 1,724 suspects were charged in connection with the cases as of May 16 this year, since the formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department on June 26, 2018..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-25
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Description: "The United Wa State Army (UWSA) on Wednesday handed over a drug trafficker it arrested along with 3.5 million methamphetamine pills in the south of the Wa self-administered zone. “The handover took place in Hui-au, in our controlled area of southern Wa State. We have also handed over other detainees to the government after previous arrests,” UWSA external relations officer Nyi Rang told The Irrawaddy. In response to a drug trafficking tipoff, a USWA battalion searched the Lwel Htwe mountain range about 5 km from the Thai border, he said. The UWSA said it found around 40 suspected drug smugglers, who opened fire on the troops. After exchanging fire, one suspect was killed and another was detained alive, according to the UWSA. The armed group said it seized around 3,510,000 meth pills. “We carried out an interrogation. The others fled and the case is not over so it is inappropriate to reveal the details but most of the suspects were from Myanmar’s territory,” said Nyi Rang. Myanmar’s military and police took part in the handover, said military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun. “As it is an area held by an EAO [ethnic armed organization], we assisted the police. The police will open a case,” he said..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-23
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Description: "Myanmar authorizes have seized narcotic drugs and drugs-related materials worth over 53 billion kyats (over 35.3 million U.S. dollars) in two consecutive days in Shan State, according to a release from the Commander-in-chief of Defense Services Office. The security forces confiscated 392 five-gallon containers of acid, 75 50-gallon plastic barrels of acid used in making drugs, over 2.4 million stimulants, 340 grams and five blocks of heroin, other narcotic drugs and drugs-related materials which were worth over 5 billion Kyats (over 3.3 million U.S. dollars) from two unoccupied buildings in Kaungkha Village of Kutkai Township on Monday, the office announced on late Tuesday. On Tuesday, the security troops also seized over 23.3 million stimulants and 5,280 grams of heroin and 38 five-gallon containers of acid worth over 48 billion kyats (over 32 million U.S. dollars) from the empty house near the same village, according to the release. Further investigation is underway to capture the suspects, the release said. According to a release issued by the President's Office on Tuesday, a total of 1,002 drug-related cases were registered across Myanmar while 1,544 suspects were charged in connection with the cases as of Feb. 29 this year, since the formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department on June 26, 2018..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
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Topic: Myanmar Cops, Seize, Ice Drug Bust
Topic: Myanmar Cops, Seize, Ice Drug Bust
Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large amount of methamphetamine (ICE) and stimulants in Shan state, said a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Tuesday (Feb 25). Acting on tip-offs, the joint anti-narcotic police force confiscated 9 kilograms of methamphetamine (ICE) from two cars along with three suspects in Tachileik Township on Monday. The township police filed a case against the suspects under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, the release said. According to the release, a total of 202,000 stimulants were also seized in Minekok Township of Shan State on Sunday and township police filed a case for further investigation to capture the suspects. According to a release issued by the President's Office late Monday, a total of 990 drug-related cases were registered across Myanmar while 1,525 suspects were charged in connection with the cases as of Feb. 22 this year. - Xinhua/Asian News Network..."
Source/publisher: "The Star Online" (Selangor)
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large amount of narcotic drugs including 3.3 kilograms of heroin, 8 kilograms of opium and 580,000 stimulant tablets in Shan State, a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) said on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, an anti-drug squad stopped and searched a car that was travelling from Mongmit to Mabein Township on Sunday. Heroin worth 627 million kyats (418,000 U.S. dollars), soap boxes filled with opium worth 64 million kyats (42,666 U.S. dollars) and stimulants worth 1.16 billion kyats (7.7 million U.S. dollars) were seized from the car. The township police had filed a case against the suspects under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, the release said..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-02-17
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-18
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Description: "Myanmar police busted 21.35 kg of raw opium in the same township of Shan state, said a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Wednesday. Acting on tip-off, a joint police force seized 4.5 kg of raw opium and some stimulants from a house in Taung Thone Lone (Upper) village in Tachileik township on Tuesday morning. On the same day, 16.85 kg of raw opium and 13,500 stimulant tablets were confiscated from another house in the same village later. Two suspects were charged in connection with the cases under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. According to a press release issued by the President Office on Monday, a total of 1,411 people were arrested in connection with 896 drug-related cases from June 26, 2018 to Dec. 21, 2019. On June 26 last year, Myanmar government announced formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department to accept and respond to reports on drug abuses and related cases from the public. The authorities are stepping up the efforts to fight against drug trafficking and urge the public to directly inform drug trafficking cases to the department, as well as Home Affairs Ministry and relevant state and region governments, the release said..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-12-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-13
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Description: "The Asia-Pacific drug trade has a new kingpin, at least according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and some Western anti-narcotics officials. His name: Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-born Canadian citizen also known as Sam Gor, or Brother No. 3 in Cantonese, who is reputedly the leader of a gang that controls most of the region’s illegal and wide-reaching methamphetamine trade. In October, Reuters published an in-depth investigation exposing Tse’s new “Asian meth syndicate”, which according to report controls the bulk of the region’s rampant trade in the narcotic. The Reuters report referred to him as “Asia’s most-wanted man” who runs a “vast multinational drug trafficking syndicate” in alliance with “five of Asia’s triad groups.” The UNODC, the report said, estimates Tse’s syndicate’s 2018 revenues at US$8-17.7 billion in 2018, with Asian sales reaching from Japan to New Zealand. Tse, who’s whereabouts are unknown, has not responded to the allegations..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2019-12-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-01
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Description: "Myanmar authorities have destroyed a total of 133.5 acres (54 hectares) illegally grown opium poppy plantations in eastern Shan state, said a statement of the Home Ministry late Wednesday. The opium poppy plantations, destroyed on Tuesday, include those grown in Pinlaung, Hopone, Pekon, Hsihseng, Maukmai, Mongnai and Mongpan towns. Between the period from Oct. 28 to Nov. 23, the authorities had wiped out 177.6 hectares illegally grown opium poppy plantations in several villages in the same state. Opium destruction is part of the government's efforts to stem opium production in the country. According to government statistics, poppy was cultivated on 37,300 hectares of land and 520 tons were produced in Myanmar in 2018, down by 9 percent and 5.45 percent respectively as compared with 2017 when poppy was cultivated on 41,000 hectares and 550 tons were produced..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-11-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-28
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Description: "Myanmar authorities have seized 100,000 stimulant tablets worth 100 million kyats (66,666 U.S. dollars) in Mongshat township of Shan state, representing the biggest drug seizure in four townships on Saturday, according to Myanmar Police Force Monday. Local police made the seizure when they searched a car on Monghsat-Tachileik road. Other seizures on the same day included 25,350 stimulant tablets when a motor cycle was intercepted on Htigyaing-Kyaunggon road in Indaw township, 1.05 kg of heroin and 52,650 stimulant tablets as a saloon car was stopped for search in the same Indaw township, 2,087 stimulant tablets when two residential houses in Yakasawk and Tachileik townships were raided respectively..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-11-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-25
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Description: "Myanmar authorities have seized 100,000 stimulant tablets worth 100 million kyats (66,666 U.S. dollars) in Mongshat township of Shan state, representing the biggest drug seizure in four townships on Saturday, according to Myanmar Police Force Monday. Local police made the seizure when they searched a car on Monghsat-Tachileik road. Other seizures on the same day included 25,350 stimulant tablets when a motor cycle was intercepted on Htigyaing-Kyaunggon road in Indaw township, 1.05 kg of heroin and 52,650 stimulant tablets as a saloon car was stopped for search in the same Indaw township, 2,087 stimulant tablets when two residential houses in Yakasawk and Tachileik townships were raided respectively..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-11-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-25
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Description: "A UN Office of Drugs and Crime report released last week states that the methamphetamine trade is now worth between US$30-61 billion per year in East and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh. That figure is up from US$15 billion a year, nearly a decade ago, the last time the UNODC estimated the value of the methamphetamine trade in the region. Better enforcement, co-operation with neighbouring governments, increased manpower, more sophisticated surveillance and increased numbers of seizures have happened whilst the trade in meth has blossomed in the region. Methamphetamine pills (aka. yaba in Thailand) are now being sold at highly discounted prices, and the well publicised massive seizures and interceptions do little to dent the operations of highly sophisticated and tech-savvy drug traffickers. Even the crystal methamphetamine (ice) from the region is feeding demand as far away as New Zealand. Experts say the boom in South East Asia’s methamphetamine industry is the result of a series of regional and political factors, which have seen Myanmar’s lawless Shan State emerge as the regional meth factory. The Shan State is in Myanmar’s north-east and borders Thailand, Laos and China..."
Source/publisher: "The Thaiger" (Thailand)
2019-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-22
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Description: "Poppy‐growing villages face serious challenges to meet Sustainable Development Goals: About one in nine households in Shan State were directly involved in opium poppy cultivation in 2018, a similar situation to 2016. This means opium poppy continues to be an integral part of the state’s economy. The result is one of the findings from UNODC’s expanded data‐gathering operation in Myanmar. For the first time, this report can draw on more than 1,500 households interviewed, as well as interviews with the headmen in 599 villages. The extra information has enabled a socio‐economic analysis of opium cultivation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research reveals that villages where opium poppy is cultivated have lower levels of development than other villages. Disparities are most noticeable with regards to security, environment, job opportunities and infrastructure. And there is a broad link between levels of development and poppy cultivation – East Shan is the least developed area and has the highest levels of engagement in poppy cultivation. However, a closer look shows that there are important variations within the region that are key to understanding drug control and development challenges. Non‐state groups control many poppy villages, suggesting a link between governance and opium poppy cultivation: Poppy villages were in general more likely than non‐poppy villages to be under the control of militias and other non‐state groups, according to surveys of village headmen. Some 18 per cent of poppy‐growing villages were beyond government control, compared with 9 per cent of non‐poppy villages. This link was strongest in North Shan, where reported conflicts between government and anti‐government forces were most frequent. In North Shan, more than half of poppy villages were controlled by militias or other forces, compared with 12 per cent of non‐poppy villages. There was no significant difference in the level of perceived safety between poppy and non‐poppy villages – less than half of village headmen said their village was ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’ regardless of the presence of opium poppy..."
Source/publisher: UN Office on Drugs and Crime ( Vienna) via Reliefweb (USA)
2019-11-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-20
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized more than 1,700 kilogrammes (3,750 pounds) of crystal meth worth nearly US$29 million in a multi-state operation this week, the biggest haul of 2019 in a country widely believed to be the world's largest methamphetamine producer. High-grade crystal meth, or "ice", is smuggled out of Myanmar via sophisticated networks to lucrative developed markets as far away as Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Authorities have been nabbing larger hauls in recent months of ice and lower quality meth pills, known in the region as "yaba", which experts say are produced in Myanmar's conflict-ridden eastern Shan State. This week's operation started on March 24 when the Myanmar Navy stopped a boat with seven people onboard off the coast of Kawthaung Township, the southernmost tip of the country, and found 1,737 kilogrammes of ice, state-run newspaper Myanmar Alinn reported Saturday. "It's the biggest seizure this year," an official from the National Drug Control Department told AFP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Using information gleaned from a satellite phone, a GPS navigator, and three mobile phones found onboard, authorities raided the house of the owner of the drugs in Yangon the next day, arresting his wife and confiscating seven bank books..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2019-03-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
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Description: "THE United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) has reported that the land planted with opium poppy fell by 10 percent last year, but local law analysts said the illegal drug trade continues to grow. According to the report, an estimated 37,300 hectares of opium poppy were planted in Myanmar last year, down from 41,000 hectares in 2017. Shan and Kachin states were the top producers of opium poppy with a combined 36,100 hectares, while Chin and Kayah states grew a combined 1200 hectares. But a spokesman for the country’s anti-narcotics force said the number of drug-related cases in the country increased last year. “Last year there were 13,000 drug cases brought to court and 18,000 people were arrested, much higher than the 8000 cases and 13,000 arrested in 2017,” said Police Chief Zaw Lin of the central anti-drug force. He said the increase in the number of drug-related arrests and interdiction could be attributed to a centre opened by President U Win Myint last June that provided secure lines of communication for people with tips. The International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based security think tank, said in a report last week that Shan State is now a global hub for the production of heroin and methamphetamine, with China as the main source of the precursor chemicals. The ICG urged the government and neighbouring countries, especially China, to help in the difficult fight to stop the drug trade in Shan State, warning that it could dominate the area’s economy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-01-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
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Sub-title: Among the regions and states that marked International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26 by torching seized drugs and drug-related material worth more than US$250 million, Shan State destroyed the largest quantity, some US$150 ....
Description: "“Drugs worth more than US$250m seized across the country were destroyed, and more than half of it was from Shan State as we burnt drugs worth over US$150m. This is because Shan State is a hub for illegal drug production,” said Shan State Police Brigadier General Zaw Khin Aung. He said Shan State contributed the largest numbers to the seizures and arrests across the country in terms of drug users, drugs, and raw materials for drug production because there are restricted areas in the state that offer an opportunity for criminals to carry out their illicit trade. The state’s police said that although poppy cultivation has declined compared to previous years, the seized amount of drugs has increased. While some 5489 hectares of poppy fields were destroyed in 2015, the number has been steadily declining over the past three years. In 2016, 3380ha were destroyed, 2411ha in 2017, and 2144ha last year. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there were about 41000ha of poppy fields in Myanmar in 2017 and about 37300ha in 2018. The production rate of opium was 550 tonnes in 2017 and 520 tonnes in 2018..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
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Sub-title: Two women suspected of being drug couriers were arrested over the weekend in Shan State after they were caught in possession of thousands of amphetamine tablets, police said.
Description: "The suspects who were riding a motorcycle were arrested after they were stopped at a random checkpoint near the Mone Lite Village in Tachileik Township on Saturday and found to be carrying 50,000 tablets of amphetamine with a street value amounting to K50 million(US$32,700). The two suspects, 20 and 17, admitted that they agreed to transport the drug in exchange for payment from a drug dealer in the area..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
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Description: "This week, a Myanmar Times special report detailed a growing problem with methamphetamine in eastern Shan State. Despite unprecedented record seizures of meth in Myanmar in recent years, the industry is still going strong in the Golden Triangle. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also noted that opium poppy cultivation has been decreasing yearly but Myanmar remains the second largest producer of opium in the world. As a regional effort cracks down on illicit drugs, crime gangs seems to be moving from cultivating poppy fields, which are easily located, to the manufacture of methamphetamine because it is easier to hide from the law. The International Crisis Group released a report on January 8 classifying Shan State as one of the largest global producers of meth. In its report, “Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar’s Shan State,” the global security think tank noted that the country’s proximity to China and the ongoing conflicts with armed ethnic groups provide a breeding ground for the production and export of narcotics. Land Law takes effect: Monday was the deadline for anyone occupying or using vacant, fallow, or virgin land to apply for a permit to use the land for 30 years or face eviction and up to two years in jail under the Vacant, Fallow, and Virgin (VFV) Land Management Law. The law has been criticised by an armed ethnic group for affecting millions of small farmers, especially in ethnic borderlands, and sparking fears of eviction and prison. As expected, on the first day of the law taking effect, local government officials and companies started evicting villagers from disputed lands, according to lawyers in southern Myanmar. Two cases are currently ongoing..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-03-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-09
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Description: "Myanmar authorities have seized a large amount of stimulants worth of 700 million kyats (466,600 U.S. dollars) in Shan state, according to a release of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) late on Tuesday. The seizure was made by local anti-drug squad in Ywa Ngan township on Monday afternoon when the unit intercepted a car on Aung Ban-Ywa Ngan motor road. The stimulants were found hidden inside the car, the committee said, adding that local police is taking action under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. On Oct. 12, Myanmar authorities also seized as many as 50,000 stimulant tablets from a motorcycle in Mong Yawng township, Shan state..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-10-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
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Sub-title: The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) has rejected the findings of the UN opium survey for 2018, saying it contains errors and is demanding a correction.
Description: "The armed ethnic group based in northern Shan issued the demand in an open letter on Monday to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “[The report] is wrong and seriously misleading,” Lt. Col Sai Harn, head of the RCSS’s drug eradication programme, said in the letter, a copy of which was provided to The Myanmar Times. The RCSS objected to the agency’s map of armed groups that shows a large presence of the government-allied militia in southern Shan State, including in areas where there is a lot of opium poppy cultivation. The report made no mention of opium poppy cultivation in areas controlled by the Tatmadaw (military) and allied militias. It said the area of opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had dropped 10 percent to 37,300 hectares in 2018, down from 41,000 hectares in 2017 and that Shan continues to be a major grower, accounting for almost 90pc of the total. The southern, eastern and northern portions of the state accounted for 38pc, 27pc and 23pc of total cultivation, respectively. The RCSS insisted that the map of armed groups in Myanmar on page seven of the report wrongly designated areas under the government-allied Pa-O National Organisation in southwest Shan as belonging to the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA). These areas are shown on the map on page six as having a lot of opium poppy cultivation..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-03-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
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Description: "Fields of purple opium poppy stretch across the pastures and peaks of mountainous eastern Myanmar, with many farmers reluctant to give up the profitable cash crop in spite of incentives offered. Myanmar is the second biggest source of opium in the world after Afghanistan, with Shan state its main production hub. AFP hiked up the steep mountainside towering over the small town of Hopong, just a few dozen kilometres from tourist hotspot Inle Lake. The farmland closest to the town boasts fields of coffee, potatoes and corn, and provides a lifeline for the scattered villages. But scale the ridge and the far side exposes a blanket of purple reaching up to an altitude of some 2,400 metres (8,000 feet). Each day men and women from the surrounding villages, home to the Pa-O and other Shan ethnic minority groups, take to the fields of the illegal flower. They harvest its addictive sap into cans that can fetch up to $100 each, sums that far exceed the profits possible from other produce..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Jakarta Post" (Indonesia)
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: drug trafficking, United Wa State Army
Topic: drug trafficking, United Wa State Army
Description: "Six more alleged members of an illegal drug trafficking group were killed by United Wa State Army (UWSA) forces on Wednesday as the ethnic armed group attempted to hunt down drug traffickers who escaped clashes on Tuesday near the Thai-Myanmar border in eastern Shan State. “We killed six of them and detained one,” Nyi Rang, a spokesperson for the UWSA in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. The incident broke out at 5 p.m. as members of the UWSA encountered the alleged drug traffickers and told them to surrender. The traffickers refused and then reportedly attacked the UWSA forces. Nyi Rang said his troops seized around 3 million methamphetamine tablets during the incident. Some of the drug traffickers escaped and the UWSA said it is continuing to search the nearby mountains and jungles. The UWSA controls an area in eastern Shan State that shares a 400-kilometer border with Thailand, but Nyi Rang said his troops are unable to police illegal drug smuggling across such a large area..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: methamphetamine, drugs, Kutkai, Shan State, Tatmadaw, Golden Triangle, crime
Topic: methamphetamine, drugs, Kutkai, Shan State, Tatmadaw, Golden Triangle, crime
Description: " Raids on jungle drug labs have been met with heavy artillery fire, Myanmar narcotics police said Thursday, in an area riddled with armed groups accused of pumping out much of the world's methamphetamine. Myanmar is under increasingly intense pressure from its neighbours to close down the meth labs in lawless parts of Shan State, the heart of the notorious "Golden Triangle". A major crackdown kicked off last month in Kutkai Township, northern Shan State, the Tatmadaw has said, where an entwined network of drug lords, ethnic rebel groups and security forces are accused of running a shadow drug economy worth billions of dollars. Huge stockpiles of chemicals as well as millions of dollars of ice, the highly addictive crystalised form of meth, were seized in one raid on homespun labs buried deep in the jungle. "The crackdown is ongoing," a senior police officer from the anti-drugs squad told AFP, requesting anonymity. The Tatmadaw and drug police initially conducted raids in the area on July 21 but were repelled by "heavy artillery" at the site, the officer said..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-03
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large haul of stimulant tablets in three townships of Shan state in a single day, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Saturday. The seizures were made in Pinlaung, Tachileik and Tangyan townships on Friday. Going undercover as a client, a joint police force captured two suspects along with 100,000 stimulant tablets worth 100 million kyats (66,667 U.S. dollars) in Pinlaung township on Friday evening. Also, 4,000 stimulant tablets were seized from a motorbike in Tachileik township, while 1,180 stimulant tablets were confiscated from a house in Tangyan township. Meanwhile, 210 grams of heroin and 320 stimulant tablets were also found from a motorbike when it was intercepted on Htee Chaint-Kawlin road in Kawlin township, Sagaing region, on the same day, the committee's release said. Five suspects in connection with the cases were charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-09-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-29
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Description: "Patrick Winn is a reporter who has been based in the region for the past 11 years and the author of a recently published book, “Hello Shadowlands,” that delves into Southeast Asia’s transnational crime networks, including the meth trade. When I spoke to him in Bangkok recently, he offered a sobering assessment. “The increase in consumption of methamphetamine across Southeast Asia, especially mainland Southeast Asia, is truly astonishing,” he said. “This region is by far and away the meth heartland of the world.” Measuring any illicit activity accurately presents real difficulties. In addition to looking at seizures, availability and the street prices of a drug, another way of trying to work out the scale of the market is arrests. Winn points out that in Thailand, “well over 90 percent of the time cops are arresting someone for drugs, it’s because they have methamphetamine, either pills or crystal meth.” His assessment is backed up by a 2013 report released by the UNODC. So why has Southeast Asia become such a center for both the production and consumption of methamphetamine? In a basic sense, the answer is simple. To produce methamphetamine requires little more than precursor chemicals, a basic laboratory setup and a competent chemist with the requisite knowledge and a place to work where they are not going to be disturbed. As long as these elements remain constant, there is not much limit to how much can be produced. All that’s left to monetize the drug is transporting it to mass markets..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "World Politics Review (WPR)"
2019-06-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Report warns export of drugs from Shan state will be easier with economic corridor project
Description: "Myanmar's Shan state is the epicentre of the global methamphetamine supply and the export of the illegal drug is about to get even easier, warns a new report from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG). In Shan state, a centre of conflict and illicit drug production since 1950, the trade in heroin and methamphetamine tablets is controlled partly by Myanmar's army, the Tatmadaw, and partly by multiple armed militias, some with the patronage of the Tatmadaw. "Good infrastructure, proximity to precursor supplies from China and safe haven provided by pro-government militias and in rebel-held enclaves have also made it a major global source of high purity crystal meth," says the report titled Fire And Ice: Conflict And Drugs In Myanmar's Shan State. The report is only the latest in a string of studies and warnings in recent years, over the proliferation of meth from Shan state, whose drug industry has seen only growth. There have been record seizures of meth in the last two years beyond the immediate region - 1.2 tonnes in Western Australia, 0.9 tonnes in Melbourne, 1.6 tonnes in Indonesia, 1.2 tonnes in Malaysia. Experts estimate seizure rates at below 10 per cent of total trade, suggesting a total annual production significantly in excess of 250 tonnes, the ICG says. In the Mekong sub-region, the trade's total value is estimated at over US$40 billion (S$54 billion) a year..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
2019-01-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: International Crisis Group, Shan State, methamphetamine, drugs, militiasTatmadaw, conflict, informal economy, Kutkai
Topic: International Crisis Group, Shan State, methamphetamine, drugs, militiasTatmadaw, conflict, informal economy, Kutkai
Description: "Illicit drug production in Shan State has become so large and profitable that it dwarfs the area’s formal economy and is hindering efforts to end ethnic conflicts, warns International Crisis Group. In a report that focuses heavily on Shan State’s emergence as a global production centre of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice”, ICG says the drugs trade is both partly a symptom of the state’s conflicts and an obstacle to sustainably ending them. It says “good infrastructure, proximity to precursor supplies from China and safe haven provided by pro-government militias and in rebel-held enclaves” had enabled the state to become a major global source of high purity crystal meth. The 36-page report, Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar’s Shan State, was released by the Brussels-based think tank on January 8. It says the drug trade in Shan State is at the centre of its political economy, which “greatly complicates efforts to resolve the area’s ethnic conflicts and undermines the prospects for better governance and inclusive economic growth in the state”. The drug trade in Shan State generates revenues for armed groups of all stripes, including militias aligned with the Tatmadaw. “Myanmar’s military, which has ultimate authority over militias and paramilitaries and profits from their activities, can only justify the existence of such groups in the context of the broader ethnic conflict of the state – so the military also has less incentive to end that conflict,” the report says. It says drug production in Shan State has had three main phases: opium and heroin from the 1950s to 1990s (when Myanmar was the largest opium producer before it was replaced by Afghanistan), followed by methamphetamines, also known as yaba, and then highly-addictive crystal meth since the early 2010s..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2019-01-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Drug Trade, People’s Militias, Shan State, Tatmadaw
Topic: Drug Trade, People’s Militias, Shan State, Tatmadaw
Description: "A people’s militia leader in Nansang Township, in southern Shan State, was detained last week by the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) on suspicion of involvement in illicit drug production and trade, according to local sources. Sai Tah was detained last week and has been under interrogation since. “We have not charged him yet, but we detained him and are interrogating him in relation to illegal drug trading,” Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun said the military attempted unsuccessfully to detain two additional people’s militia members, who are now in hiding. According to the Shan Herald Agency for News, Sai Nyut, a junior leader and militia captain, is one of the two suspects the Tatmadaw is looking for; he fled with some 60 armed troops, the news agency reported. According to the Shan Herald Agency for News, the military has offered to release Sai Tah if Sai Nyut turns himself in..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized 42.5 kilograms of opium worth over 25.5 million kyats (17,000 U.S. dollars) in Shan state, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Wednesday. The seizure was made by a joint police force from a motorbike travelling from Aungban to Ywangan on Tuesday afternoon. On the same day, 246,500 stimulant tablets worth 739.5 million kyats (493,000 U.S. dollars) from a motorbike when it was intercepted on Lai Mhone road in Kale township, Sagaing region. Two suspects were charged in connection with the two cases under Myanmar's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua"
2019-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large haul of narcotic drugs including 454,670 stimulant tablets and 4 kilograms of marijuana in Rakhine state, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Saturday. Stimulant tablets worth over 909 million kyats (606,227 U.S. dollars) were confiscated from two houses in Maungtaw township late Friday. Three suspects were charged under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law while searching for one suspect who fled the scene was underway. Meanwhile, four kilograms of marijuana was confiscated at a highway bus station, along with a suspect in Ann township, Rakhine state on Thursday, the committee's release said. On the same day, 1,950 kilograms of caffeine worth 195 million kyats (130,000 U.S. dollars) were seized from two cars in Tachileik town, Shan state. Also, the anti-narcotic taskforce seized 39,900 stimulant tablets worth 79.8 million kyats (53,200 U.S. dollars) and 660 grams of heroin worth 66 million kyats (44,000 U.S. dollars) in Momauk township, Kachin state, said the Saturday's release..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua"
2019-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: ''It seems Shan State’s stigma of being the epicenter of narcotics production won’t go away easily even after nearly three decades of Afghanistan took over as the leader in opium trade in 1990, pushing Shan State to the second place until today. The period from 1950s onward until the 1990s was the era of opium refined heroin. But now in 21st century it is the crystal methamphetamine called “ice”. Recent International Crisis Group (ICG) report “Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar’s Shan State” pointed out that Shan State is the epicenter of this manufactured synthetic drugs, which again lent the area the stigma of narcotics center of production. “The trade in ice, along with amphetamine tablets and heroin, has become so large and profitable that it dwarfs the formal economy of Shan State, lies at the heart of its political economy, fuels criminality and corruption and hinders efforts to end the state’s long-running ethnic conflicts,” wrote the ICG report...''
Creator/author: Sai Wansai
Source/publisher: Shan News via " International Crisis Group (ICG)''
2019-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''Myanmar (Burma) is the world's second largest producer of opium. Opium bans have left many poppy farmers without sustainable sources of income. Coffee is supposed to be an alternative. A Report by Bastian Hartig...''
Creator/author: Bastian Hartig
Source/publisher: DW News
2015-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ), Shan
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Description: ''Myo Min knows all too well about the negative effects of excessive drug use. He started using methamphetamines more than a decade ago after being pressured to try it by some friends, and quickly graduated to heroin. Since then, he has seen it all: sleepless nights, failing health, fights with his family, paranoia, and tragedy. Several years ago, a close friend became so paranoid from using drugs that he jumped from the fourth floor of a building to his death. Despite all of this, Myo Min hasn’t managed to get himself completely clean. “It is much easier now to buy yaba compared to before,” he said, referring to Thai word for the cheap methamphetamine pill. “I sometimes use yaba now, although not as much as before. Now I think I have things more under control.” Myo Min’s experience is not unique in Myanmar, where health workers say that drug use is becoming increasingly common in many communities across the country...''
Creator/author: Oliver Slow, Win Zar Ni Aung
Source/publisher: Asia Times
2019-01-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''Myanmar’s Shan State has emerged as one of the largest global centres for the production of crystal methamphetamine (“ice”). Large quantities of the drug, with a street value of tens of billions of dollars, are seized each year in Myanmar, neighbouring countries and across the Asia-Pacific. Production takes place in safe havens in Shan State held by militias and other paramilitary units allied with the Myanmar military, as well as in enclaves controlled by non-state armed groups. The trade in ice, along with amphetamine tablets and heroin, has become so large and profitable that it dwarfs the formal economy of Shan State, lies at the heart of its political economy, fuels criminality and corruption and hinders efforts to end the state’s long-running ethnic conflicts. Myanmar’s government should stop prosecuting users and small-scale sellers and work with its neighbours to disrupt the major networks and groups profiting from the trade. The military should better constrain pro-government militias and paramilitaries involved in the drugs trade, with an eye to their eventual demobilisation...''
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group
2019-01-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 370.81 KB 810.99 KB
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Description: BURMA?S SHAN REBEL GROUPS: "Burma?s Shan state produces 80% of the opium grown in the Golden Triangle. It is also home to a greater variety of insurgent armies than anywhere else on earth. Martin Smith investigates the politics of opium and uncovers a morass of constantly shifting and, at times, unlikely alliances..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Inside Asia" September-October, 1985
1985-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 789.4 KB
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Description: "With unique access and information from the ground, the Lahu National Development Organisation (LNDO) examines in this report how the Burma Army benefi ts directly from the drug trade in eastern Shan State. The findings show how conflict and drug production in Burma are inextricably linked, and that only a political resolution of the decades- long ethnic conflict will enable Burma?s drug crisis to be addressed. Despite ceasefires, the central government?s refusal to cede to ethnic demands for federalism has caused a steady military build-up by both the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups in eastern Shan State. Over the past ten years, the number of Burma Army troops in seven eastern Shan townships has risen from over 10,000 to over 14,000. Significantly for the drug trade, this includes a substantial increase in the number of Burma Army militia troops—from about 2,300 to 3,400—who serve the vital purpose of maintaining central government control over inaccessible mountainous areas. The Burma Army militia-controlled areas are where most opium in eastern Shan State is being grown, as shown by maps of the United Nations Offce of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These areas are also where scores of drug refineries that produce large amounts of heroin and methamphetamines (?yaba”) are located. The Burma Army militia groups provide security to the drug syndicates operating the refineries. In the process they make huge profits from buying opium from farmers and selling it to refinery owners, from joint investments in refineries, and from transporting drugs to distributors. These profits not only subsidize the upkeep of the militia forces, but enable militia leaders to gain substantial personal wealth. This is a key incentive to remain loyal to the Burma Army, and to continue their policing duty against ethnic resistance groups..."
Source/publisher: Lahu National Development Organisation (LNDO)
2016-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2016-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: Summary: "Almost one year after Burma?s long-awaited elections were held in November 2010, Palaung communities in northern Shan State are suffering from the effects of an even greater upsurge in opium cultivation than in previous years. Local paramilitary leaders, some now elected into Burma?s new parliament, are being allowed to cultivate and profi t from drugs in return for helping the regime suppress ethnic resistance forces in Burma?s escalating civil war. As a result, drug addiction has escalated in the Palaung area, tearing apart families and communities. Burma?s drug problems are set to worsen unless there is genuine political reform that addresses the political aspirations of Burma?s ethnic minority groups. Research carried out by Palaung Women?s Organisation in Namkham Township shows that: ???? Opium cultivation across 15 villages in Namkham Township has increased by a staggering 78.58% within two years. ???? 12 villages in the same area, which had not previously grown opium, have started to grow opium since 2009. ???? A signifi cant number of these villages are under the control of government paramilitary ?anti-insurgency? forces, which are directly profi ting from the opium trade. ???? The most prominent militia leader and druglord in the area, ?Pansay? Kyaw Myint, from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, was elected as an MP for Namkham in November 2010; he promised voters that they could grow opium freely for 5 years if they voted for him. ???? Government troops, police and militia continue to openly tax opium farmers, and to collect bribes from drug addicts in exchange for their release from custody. ???? Drug addiction in Palaung communities has spiralled out of control. In one Palaung village, PWO found that 91% of males aged 15 and over were addicted to drugs. Drug addiction is causing huge problems for families, with women and children bearing the burden of increased poverty, crime and violence."
Source/publisher: Palaung Women?s Organization (PWO)
2011-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2011-10-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 417.31 KB 68.49 KB 85.42 KB
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Description: "In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival... Conclusions & Recommendations: • The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education. • The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population. • Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income. • Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as ?emer-gency responses”. • If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable. The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population. The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time..."
Creator/author: Tom Kramer
Source/publisher: Transnational Insititute (Drug Policy Briefing Nr 29)
2009-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 217.33 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..."
Source/publisher: Palaung Women's Organization
2010-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2010-01-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 3.93 MB 3.38 MB
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Description: Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..."
Source/publisher: Palaung Women's Organization
2010-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2010-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 3.38 MB 3.93 MB
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Description: Die vorliegende Untersuchung entlarvt den angeblichen ?Krieg gegen die Drogen”, den Burmas Militärregime im Shan Staat zu führen vorgibt, als eine reine Farce. Er liefert Beweise dafür, dass die Drogenindustrie vielmehr einen integralen Teil der Regimepolitik darstellt, um das Gebiet des Shan Staats ruhigzustellen und zu kontrollieren. "Pseudo"-War against drugs in Shan-State; Neutralitaion of the Shan
Source/publisher: Burma Riders
2007-06-22
Date of entry/update: 2007-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: Zwei Faktoren trugen wesentlich zum Machtzuwachs der ‚burmesischen? KMT bei: ihre Rückendeckung durch den amerikanischen CIA gegen die Bedrohung durch das kommunistische China und ihr Einstieg in das Drogengeschäft auf industrieller Basis. Ohne eigene ökonomische Grundlage in den Shan Bergen erkannten die Chinesen sehr schnell die Möglichkeit durch Raffinierung und Schmuggel von Opiaten ihre Armee zu finanzieren.
Source/publisher: Burma Riders
2007-06-20
Date of entry/update: 2007-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: "...In a way, this report starts off from where our last report "Show Business: Rangoon?s War on Drugs in Shan State" (2003) left off. It describes the unimaginable extent of corruption in Burma, and the live-off-the-land policy of Burmese military units that has forced local authorities to turn a blind eye to drug activities. It also exposes how cultivation of opium poppies has increased, and gives insight into the production and trade of methamphetamines, better known as yaba in Thailand and yama in Shan State. The major difference is that whereas "Show Business" focused mostly on opium and its derivative heroin, Hand in Glove puts the spotlight more on yaba. It also highlights the growing role of pro-Rangoon militia in the drug trade, as the regime has begun openly favouring them over the ceasefire groups..." 1. Military collusion in the drug trade: - Rain leaking from the roof; - Military expansion and "self reliance"... 2. Opium trends: - Poppy upsurge since 2004; - Bumper 2005-2006 crop; - Selective slashing; - Opium output decreasing or increasing?... 3. Churning out the pills: - Factories; - The precursors; - Brands... 4. Shipping out... 5. Militia on the rise: - New faces... 6. Crackdown charades... 7. Drug use in Shan State: - Rehabilitation efforts... 8. Conclusion... Appendix: Burma Army units reported to be involved in the drug trade.
Source/publisher: Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
2006-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.88 MB
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Description: "?Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung Women in Burma?, based on interviews with eighty-eight wives and mothers of drug addicts, shows how women in Palaung areas have become increasingly vulnerable due to the rising addiction rates. Already living in dire poverty, with little access to education or health care, wives of addicts must struggle single-handedly to support as many as ten children. Addicted husbands not only stop providing for their families, but also sell off property and possessions, commit theft, and subject their wives and children to repeated verbal and physical abuse. The report details cases of women losing eight out of eleven children to disease and of daughters being trafficked by their addicted father. The increased addiction rates have resulted from the regime allowing drug lords to expand production into Palaung areas in recent years, in exchange for policing against resistance activity and sharing drug profits. The collapse of markets for tea and other crops has driven more and more farmers to turn to opium growing or to work as labourers in opium fields, where wages are frequently paid in opium. The report throws into question claims by the regime and the UNODC of a dramatic reduction of opium production in Burma during the past decade, and calls on donor countries and UN agencies supporting drug eradication programs in Burma to push for genuine political reform..."
Source/publisher: Palaung Women?s Organization
2006-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2006-06-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 631.56 KB
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "This investigative report exposes as a charade the Burmese military regime?s "War on Drugs" in Shan State. It provides evidence that the drug industry is integral to the regime?s political strategy to pacify and control Shan State, and concludes that only political reform can solve Burma?s drug problems. In order to maintain control of Shan State without reaching a political settlement with the ethnic peoples, the regime is allowing numerous local ethnic militia and ceasefire organisations to produce drugs in exchange for cooperation with the state. At the same time, it condones involvement of its own personnel in the drug business as a means of subsidizing its army costs at the field level, as well as providing personal financial incentives. These policies have rendered meaningless the junta?s recent "anti-drug" campaign, staged mainly in Northern Shan State since 2001. The junta deliberately avoided targeting areas under the control of its main ceasefire and militia allies. The people most affected have been poor opium farmers in "unprotected" areas, who have suffered mass arrest and extrajudicial killing. The anti-drug campaign was not waged at all in Southern Shan State, and in only a few token areas of Eastern Shan State. Opium is continuing to be grown in almost every township of Shan State, with Burmese military personnel involved at all levels of opium production and trafficking, from providing loans to farmers to grow opium, taxation of opium, providing security for refineries, to storage and transportation of heroin. The diversification of drug syndicates into methamphetamine production since the mid-90s has also been with the collusion of Burmese military units. S.H.A.N. has documented the existence of at least 93 heroin and/or methamphetamine refineries in existence this year, run by the regime?s military allies, with the complicity of local Burmese military units. Raids on refineries carried out during the regime?s "war on drugs" have targeted only smaller players and served to consolidate control of the refineries into the hands of the major drug operators such as the United Wa State Army. High-profile drug-traffickers continue to operate with impunity, many using legal businesses as a front. None have been prosecuted under the new anti-money laundering legislation introduced in 2002. While colluding in and profiting from the drug business, the regime has taken no serious measures to deal with its social impacts. It has failed to implement public health campaigns against drug abuse, leading to growing addiction problems, particularly with methamphetamines, which Shan villagers are now routinely taking as "energy" pills. The lack of state drug treatment centres has led many communities to set up their own. The junta?s token attempts at crop substitution, often with international assistance, have also failed miserably, due to poor planning, coercive implementation and complete disregard for the welfare of local populations. Under the so-called "New Destiny" project launched in April 2002, farmers in many townships have been forced to plant a new strain of rice from China, which has failed in each locality. The report also questions the latest figures for opium cultivation given by UNODC in its 2003 Burma opium survey, which show a decrease of 24% since the previous year, and an overall decrease of 62% since 1996. Data collected by S.H.A.N. in Mong Yawng, show that the actual amount of land under opium cultivation in the township during the 2002-2003 growing season was at least four times higher than that listed in the UNODC survey. The UNODC field teams surveyed only along the main roads, collecting data from villagers who were too intimidated to reveal the truth about the extent of poppy growing in the area. Given the regime?s use of the drug trade within its political strategy to control Shan State, it is clear that no amount of international aid will succeed in solving the drug problem unless there is political reform. As Shan analysts have reiterated for decades, this can only be achieved through the restoration of genuine peace, democracy and the rule of law in Burma."
Source/publisher: The Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
2003-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-12-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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