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Silk
road of drugs- Bangkok Post 2-9-01
DRUG SMUGGLING: Just when drug suppression agents were starting to get on top of trafficking operations, the Wa producers have come up with bold new strategies to thwart them, including using civilian cover to protect their cross-border operations into Thailand and taking to the high seas to penetrate the highly lucrative markets of the West
by Surath
Jinakul
Faced with
a tough suppression campaign by Thai soldiers and anti-narcotics officials, the
United Wa State Army (UWSA) under drug baron Wei Hsueh Kang has resorted to
erecting a "human wall" close to the Thai border to protect its drug smuggling
operation, which has now shifted to the Andaman Sea route.
Dubbed the
"Silk Road of Drugs", this new smuggling route stretches from the Burmese border
town of Tachilek down to the deep-sea port of Myawaddy, and onto the southern
tip of Burma opposite the Thai province of Ranong (see map).
In late
1999, Thai authorities began to detect an exodus of tribal people from northern
Burma to areas close to the Thai-Burmese border opposite the northern Thai
province of Chiang Mai. These migrants comprised the Wa and Kokang, which had
lived in rugged mountainous areas near the southern Yunnan province of
China.
During the
past year, the UWSA and its ally Kokang Democracy United Army (KDUA) have
resettled more Wa and Kokang civilians along the border opposite the Thai
provinces of Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Tak.
This year
saw new settlements sprout up along this south-bound route, raising concerns
among Thai security and anti-narcotics officials which had clashed with
unidentified armed groups.
While
drugs are still smuggled through the porous border with Burma, large quantities
of them are believed to have been sent to third countries via the Andaman Sea,
according to anti-narcotics officials.
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In the
biggest drug haul in several years, Thai navy officers intercepted two fishing
boats in the Andaman Sea near the Surin group of islands on January 7 this year
and seized five million methamphetamine tablets and 100 kilogrammes of heroin.
The boats were en route to Singapore when they were intercepted.
Anti-narcotics
officials believe Wei Hsueh Kang had teamed up with former drug baron Lo
Hsing-han and Singaporean mafias to link the "Silk Road of Drugs" with a
sea-bound route via the Burmese town of Myawaddy.
A deep-sea
port was officially opened in Myawaddy on June 1 this year. It was hailed as a
major step forward for Burma's economic development. But anti-narcotics
officials are suspicious about the source of money that went into the port's
construction.
According
to an army officer involved in drug suppression, the south-bound migration of
Wa, Kokang and other hilltribe people would not be possible without the tacit
approval of Chinese and Burmese authorities.
"China has
had a big problem fighting drug smuggling and drug addiction in its southern
region," he told Perspective. "Naturally, they would be happy if these
drug-producing groups are moved away from their border," he added, referring to
the Wa and Kokang tribesmen.
Burma
itself would benefit from the resettlement of these minority groups, which serve
as a counter-force against other armed minority groups still opposed to
Rangoon.
The
civilian communities set up along the border also provide a "buffer" for illegal
drug labs and caravans that snake along the rugged border terrain, the officer
noted.
The
surrender of drug warlord Khun Sa to Burmese authorities in 1996 enabled Wei
Hsueh Kang and the UWSA to emerge as the major heroin producers and traffickers
in the Golden Triangle. Lately, production shifted to methamphetamines, which
were smuggled in large quantities into Thailand in the last few
years.
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With Khun
Sa out of the picture, the UWSA had joined forces with the Kokang Democracy
United Army (KDUA), which has about 7,000 armed men.
The Kokang
is an ethnic minority group in Burma which together with the Wa, the Shan and
the Chinese Haw had been associated with the Communist Party of Burma. Since
communism lost its hold in the region, communist fighters have disbanded and
regrouped under the Kokang leadership.
In the
late 1990s, the UWSA, the KDUA and some minority groups entered into a peace
agreement with the Burmese military junta, which has since allowed them to
rebuild their forces and businesses.
In return,
the groups help the ruling junta to crush anti-Rangoon elements. The coalition
also ensures that no activities against Rangoon arise from the various groups of
Buddhist and Christian Karens.
While the
Wa produce drugs, the Kokang help them guard drug labs and trafficking routes.
They also collect protection fees from drug caravans and other illegal
activities, according to security sources.
But with
millions of methamphetamine tablets smuggled into Thailand each year, armed
clashes between drug smuggling gangs and Thai security forces are
unavoidable.
In one
such clash in September 1999, a Thai Border Patrol policeman was killed and
three seriously wounded in an ambush by drug smugglers in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai
district. Then Narcotics Suppression Bureau commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Komkrit
Patphongpanich remarked that "the fight against drugs is going to get
increasingly harder."Since then Thai authorities have stepped up border
surveillance. Soldiers, Border Patrol Police and army-trained rangers have
teamed up to stop the flow of methamphetamines from across the
border.
Mr Anuwat
S. Sairattanyu, headman of Pang-kerd village in Chiang Mai's Mae Taeng district,
is concerned about an influx of new migrants from Burma.
"I was
informed by people in some border villages (in Mae Taeng) that Burmese, Chinese
and other tribal people crossed the border into their villages in April this
year, claiming it was unsafe to stay in Burma," Anuwat told Perspective in a
recent interview at his home.
"They
claimed they had escaped fighting in Burma."In addition to these migrants, tens
of thousands of hilltribe people from northern Burma had been resettled in
border areas opposite Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son during the past
year, he said.
"They are
literally forming a human wall along the border," said Anuwat.
He
believes the new border villages are designed to protect drug smugglers
operating along the "buffer zone".
"If they
run into Thai border officials and a clash erupts, they can take cover inside
these villages," he noted.
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Because
the border is not clearly demarcated, a dispute could erupt over territorial
sovereignty, Anuwat said, adding that some of the new settlements are located
very close to the Thai border.
His
concern is shared by Mr Krisada Boonraj, chief officer of Fang district in
Chiang Mai.
According
to Krisada, ethnic minorities and Chinese from southern China have been moving
toward the Thai border. Many new arrivals have mingled with tribal villagers
already settled in Thailand.
This makes
it difficult for Thai authorities to identify "bad elements" who may enter the
country to engage in drug trafficking.
He
confirmed that Thai security officials had clashed with armed groups who entered
villages in Mon Pin sub-district of Fang in April and May this year.
In view of
the new security threat arising from the presence of new migrants just across
the border, Krisada said Thai authorities must strengthen cooperation with
tribal communities in the country.
These
highlanders have been living in Thailand for a long time and they are loyal to
Thailand, he said, adding that the government is now working to grant them Thai
nationality. (see story on Page 3)It is hoped that these ethnic Thai citizens
will serve as the eyes and ears of government authorities in their efforts to
maintain border security and stem the flow of drugs from across the
border.
Last
month's seizure of 450,000 Wa-made methamphetamine tablets in Switzerland
confirms the urgent need for increased international efforts to fight the drug
scourge.
The Swiss
drug bust provided the first major confirmation that the United Wa State Army
has expanded its methamphetamine trade beyond Thailand.
In a big
step towards regional cooperation, China, Thailand, Burma and Laos have pledged
to cooperate in the suppression of narcotics production and
trafficking.
Meeting in
Beijing last Tuesday, ministers from these countries pledged to cooperate to
curb trafficking of heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs from the Golden
Triangle, which straddles the borders of the four countries.
Officials
of the four countries will share intelligence and join forces to stem the
proliferation of chemicals used in the production of narcotic drugs.
Anti-narcotics
officials in Thailand, Asean countries and those in Europe and America have been
working together to break the networks of drug syndicates around the
world.
The "Silk
Road of Drugs" has indeed posed a new challenge for Thai authorities which, in
addition to policing the border with Burma, have to look out for smugglers in
the Andaman Sea.
In
response to this challenge, the Thai government has set up a "Sorn Chon" task
force to suppress drug smuggling in the Andaman Sea. The Royal Thai Navy's 3rd
Fleet will spearhead the operation, in coordination with the Marine Police, the
Excise Department and the Customs Department.
