The junta has carried out a series of raids and seizures at covert drug labs in Thibaw (Hsipaw) and Mongyai townships in northern Shan State, but the suspects remain unidentified.
Starting January 8, the junta launched a crackdown on hidden drug labs and illegal gambling dens in Namlan Town, Thibaw Township, and parts of Mongyai Township.
On January 9, the junta conducted targeted airstrikes near the border of the two townships. Following the strikes, infantry troops searched the area and uncovered at least four drug-processing operations, seizing acid tanks, gas canisters, chemical solutions, laboratory glassware, and other drug-production equipment, the junta announced.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun accused corrupt and greedy individuals of operating drug labs and illegal betting businesses in collusion with certain ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), but the actual perpetrators have yet to be identified.
“It is unlikely that the junta has been completely unaware of the existence of such large-scale labs. The situation is becoming increasingly intriguing, and the case is unlikely to end in its current state. The junta will eventually need to find someone to blame,” a Thibaw resident told Shan Herald.
It is somewhat unusual that the junta did not directly blame any group, despite carrying out raids in areas where the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) is primarily active, he added.
On January 15, the junta announced it had seized additional drug-production equipment in Mongyai Township and was continuing to search for more hidden labs. The junta spokesperson confirmed that the regime received intelligence cooperation from China to raid drug labs in areas where the SSPP/SSA is active.
On January 14, the junta transported international diplomats, military attachés, Chinese and Thai anti-drug officials, and UNODC representatives by helicopter to the discovered drug labs, where they toured the sites.
Speaking at a press conference at Anesakhan Airport in Pyin Oo Lwin Town, Mandalay Region, bordering northern Shan State, Major General Zaw Min Tun said the operation resulted in the largest seizure of drug-making equipment in the country’s history and that the junta has vowed to take effective action against the perpetrators, regardless of who they are.
He alleged that some EAOs are producing drugs in their controlled areas and relying on this practice as a primary source of income, with sea-port exports run by the Arakan Army (AA), smuggling to Thailand carried out by the Karen National Union (KNU), Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and People’s Defence Force (PDF), and exports to India handled by the Chin National Front (CNF) and PDF.
Among the discovered labs in Thibaw and Mongyai, three are believed to be major manufacturing sites, with the seized items valued at an estimated 1,620 billion MMK, more than a third of the total value of drugs and related paraphernalia seized last year, the junta announced.
