Residents and traders in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region, are facing severe economic hardship as Pyu Saw Htee militia members have implemented a systematic regime of extortion on essential goods entering the town.

Members of the Pyu Saw Htee militia, headed by the female leader Thida Yu Mon in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region, are reportedly imposing tolls on goods entering the town, with fees reaching as high as 10,000 kyats (approx: $5) per bag of rice, according to the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee and local truck drivers.

Each person entering Myingyan is required to pay between 2,000 and 3,000 kyats in entry fees, while basic food items, including rice, are also subject to taxation, an official from the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee told Mizzima.

“The levy is a personal tax introduced this month. A bag of rice incurs a fee of 10,000 kyats, while a container of cooking oil is charged at 5,000 kyats. Higher-value goods attract higher payments, whereas low-value items such as tomatoes or potatoes are exempt if the basket is not full, but subject to a 5,000-kyat fee when carried in full baskets,” he said.

Previously, truck and tractor drivers paid around 20,000 kyats for a round trip, but the fee has now doubled to 40,000 kyats.

“With fuel prices so high, transporting rice and paying fees for tractors and vehicles now costs more than 30,000 kyats per trip to town. It appears the Pyu Saw Htee militia has changed personnel, and the current members are far more difficult to deal with than before. Previously, we paid 3,000 to 5,000 kyats per bag of rice, but the fee has risen to 10,000 kyats. When we transport diesel, they confiscate two out of every three gallons and warn us not to bring it again,” he said.

Currently, goods purchased from the town are subject to fixed charges, with salt taxed at 5,000 kyats per bag, potatoes and onions at 5,000 kyats each, and palm oil restricted to purchases of less than five viss, with a fee of 5,000 kyats per five-viss container.

In March 2025, the military and the Pyu Saw Htee imposed restrictions on the transport of raw and dried goods at checkpoints in Myingyan Township, threatening to shoot anyone found purchasing more than three bags of rice, according to greengrocers.

In addition, the purchase and transport of electronic devices, electrical appliances and accessories, solar panels and related equipment, as well as diesel fuel, have been banned for more than a year.

An official from the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee said the restrictions have caused significant hardship for local residents, as villages in Myingyan Township lack electricity and depend on solar panels and batteries.

According to local defense forces, eight checkpoints have been set up around Myingyan town, where residents say groups led by Pyu Saw Htee leader Thida Yu Mon are enforcing checks and restrictions in coordination with troops from the military regime’s 15th Infantry Battalion.