The Burma Army raided a drug rehabilitation centre in Muse Township, Central Shan State and arrested 72 people, most of them patients, for involvement in the drug trade on 20 March, said treatment centre staff.
According to Sai Kwan, a volunteer worker at the centre in Zerngtai village in Muse Township, Burma Army Division 88 made the arrests using more than 50 soldiers.
He said: “At about 5 a.m. in the morning, the Burma Army came into the centre and arrested 65 people and seven staff."
Those arrested included Sai Chit Ngwe, the head of the rehabilitation centre. Others arrested included Sai Sarm Bee, the headman of village tract No. 3 and Sai Ai Aung, the headman of Zerngtai Village Tract.
Sai Kwan said: “They accused the villagers of producing and trading drugs.”
He explained; “This centre is a rehabilitation centre. The people living here were brought to treat their illness. We do not produce any drugs, we only make paper." This was a reference to the Ghost Money that the centre produces for use in Chinese funerals.
The accused are being held in a prison in Muse Township. They appeared in court on 22 March. Further details of their court appearance are not yet available.
Sai Chit Ngwe, the head of the rehabilitation centre who also serves as the headman of a village known as Village 19 was detained but then eventually released. He called for all the people picked up during the raid to be released.
He said: “They must release all of them, I will not go home unless they release them.”
The drug rehabilitation centre was established 16 years ago by Sai Chit Ngwe. He established the centre with funds from villagers and donors. The centre does not receive support from the government.
BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
