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Burma Turns Over Drug Trafficker
- Subject: Burma Turns Over Drug Trafficker
- From: ausgeo@xxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 23:36:00
Burma Turns Over Drug Trafficker
Saturday, May 17, 1997
RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- A Burmese man wanted on charges of organizing the
third-largest shipment of heroin ever seized in the United States was turned
over Saturday to Thai authorities.
Burma's military junta said Li Yun-chung was flown to Bangkok aboard a
special Thai Air Force aircraft. Li fled to Burma last month after failing to
appear in a Thai court on drug-related charges.
Li was indicted in U.S. District Court in New York in May 1996 in connection
with 1,070 pounds of heroin, worth an estimated $50 million, seized in
Hayward, Calif., in 1991.
It was not known whether Thai authorities would transfer Li to U.S. custody to
face those charges.
Li, also known as Phongsak Rogjanasakul, has been described as a key aide to
onetime Burmese drug warlord Khun Sa, who is believed to be living in Rangoon
after surrendering to Burmese authorities. Khun also is wanted on drug-related
charges in the United States.
In its statement, the SLORC said Li was turned over to the Thais to promote
good relations and to aid drug-fighting efforts in the region.
Li, who owns a textile factory in Thailand, was arrested in Thailand last July
on a U.S. request. Thai police and U.S. officials were shocked when a court
released him on $200,000 bail -- and not surprised when he failed to show up
for a court hearing in March.
The Burmese government did not say when or how Li, 57, was apprehended.
Burma is the world's largest producer of illicit opium, from which heroin is
refined. Most of the opium is grown in areas only nominally controlled by the
government.
Burma and the United States have recently been at odds. The Clinton
administration last month banned new U.S. investment in Burma, citing the
government's harsh treatment of its democratic opposition.
The sanctions were bitterly criticized by the government but praised by
Burma's pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.