Topic:
Shan State, UWSA
Sub-title:
The United Wa State Army in Shan State, which has been accused of coddling drug dealers in the areas under its control, killed eight suspected drug traffickers and seized millions of methamphetamine tablets last week.
Description:
"The UWSA operation on Tuesday and Wednesday in northern Shan netted 4.8 million methamphetamine tablets and neutralised a drug-trafficking syndicate, a spokesman for the group said.
U Nyi Rang, UWSA spokesperson, said nine drug traffickers were arrested by an anti-drug task force.
“We ordered the gang to surrender, but they refused. They began firing at our men so we fired back.”
He said the UWSA had dispatched fighters to the Thai-Myanmar border after receiving a tip-off about a drug operation in the area on September 10.
U Nyi Rang said some gang members were able to flee across the Thai border during the clashes. He gave no details about the traffickers but said they were from another Myanmar ethnic group.
The UWSA, the largest ethnic armed group in Myanmar, is based in northern and eastern Shan, and has a reputation for trafficking illegal drugs all over the world. The Thai government has often accused the group of trafficking drugs across the Thai border. The UWSA has denied all accusations, saying that the drug traffickers operating in their territory were from other parts of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of Publication:
2019-10-07
Date of entry:
2019-10-07
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Countries:
Myanmar
Administrative areas of Burma/Myanmar:
Shan State
Language:
English
Resource Type:
text
Text quality:
- Good