Heroin Haven

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                   FEER 27/3                                     Heroin Haven
                                    U.S. dismayed at drug suspect's escape
to safety

                                                      By Bertil Lintner in
Bangkok

                                                                March 27, 1997
          American diplomats in Thailand were enraged when Li Yun-chun, an
alleged
          drug-trafficker awaiting extradition to the United States, jumped
bail in Bangkok
          last month. But even more worrying for U.S. and Thai narcotics
officials is that he
          had somewhere safe to escape to: Burma. 

          The number of major drug-running suspects now in Burma but wanted
in the U.S.
          has risen to eight. Drug-enforcement officials are even more
disturbed that the
          wanted men are not exactly in hiding, as one source put it, but
running supposedly
          legitimate businesses. "Burma is becoming a haven for fugitive
          drug-traffickers,"says a Western narcotics official. "That's far
more serious than
          Li's actual escape from Bangkok." 

          Li, also known under his Thai name Phongsak Rojjanasakul, was
arrested last July
          along with another trafficker, Cha Chung-chang alias Praphan
Thongchaisawang, in
          the city of Thonburi, which adjoins Bangkok. Both were linked to a
486-kilogram
          heroin shipment seized in California in 1991. Their first two
appeals for bail were
          rejected, but perhaps taking advantage of the confusion around
Chinese New Year
          in early February, Li went free on 5 million baht ($200,000) bail
and failed to
          report back on March 7, as ordered. 

          Instead, he hurried north, and both Thai and Western intelligence
officials say he
          was last seen walking across the bridge from Mae Sai in northern
Thailand into
          Tachilek in Burma. "The escape must have been well-planned,"an
official says.
          "Once in Tachilek, he quickly took off for Rangoon." 

          Li, a Burma-born Chinese, has good connections in Burma, where he once
          cooperated with heroin kingpin Khun Sa. Having surrendered to the
Burmese
          authorities in January last year, Khun Sa, now a businessman in
Rangoon, is also
          under indictment in America. In November 1994, U.S. and Thai
authorities
          launched a coordinated sweep code-named "Tiger Trap"against Khun
Sa's heroin
          network in Thailand, shortly after indicting 20 of its members,
including Khun Sa
          himself. 

          Ten men on the Tiger Trap list were apprehended during the
operation, while four
          others were captured later, one of them in Kunming, China. Of
those arrested, three
          have so far been extradited to the U.S., among them Chao Fu-sheng,
a sales
          representative for Khun Sa's organization and procurer of refining
chemicals. 

          That leaves six men wanted under Operation Tiger Trap still at
large in Burma.
          Well-placed sources say they include Khun Sa himself; his uncle,
Khun Hseng; the
          chief of staff of his former Mong Tai Army, Chang Chu-shuan; and
the kingpin's
          accountant and aide-de-camp, Lao Tai; and two others. Following
Khun Sa's
          surrender a year ago, all of them followed him to Rangoon where
they went into the
          real estate and transport business. 

          A senior U.S. drug-enforcement official insists that they are also
still running heroin
          refineries along the Thai border. Heroin prices in the areas
opposite Khun Sa's
          former territory in eastern Burma first shot up from around
130,000 baht per 700
          grams to almost 500,000 baht immediately after Khun Sa's
surrender. But prices
          have now stabilized at around 190,000 baht for the same amount,
lending credence
          to the allegation of continued activity. 

          Li has now joined those seemingly able to operate with impunity
and official
          protection in Burma along with Khun Sa's five remaining top
lieutenants. An eighth
          drug-trafficker has also established himself as a prominent
businessman in Burma:
          Wei Hsueh-kang, one of the three notorious Wei brothers, who
controls the
          economic activities of Khun Sa's rivals in the heroin business,
the United Wa State
          Army, based along the Yunnan frontier in northeastern Burma. Wei
has been
          indicted in the U.S. for his drug-trafficking activities, and he
is also a wanted man in
          Thailand. 

          Following Li's escape, the Thais reacted quickly to contain the
damage. Justice
          Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced on March 16 a government
investigation into
          how and why Li was granted bail. Investigators will also look into
suspected
          bribe-taking. U.S. officials emphasize that the Thais have been
cooperative, but
          Burma appears to be an entirely different case. Li's reappearance
in Rangoon is
          bound to affect already strained U.S.-Burmese relations. The U.S.
is concerned
          about not only the acceptance of Khun Sa but also long-time
trafficker Lo
          Hsing-han, whose son Steven Law was refused a U.S. visa last August.