The Karen National Union (KNU) has strongly denied the junta’s accusation that it produces drugs in areas under its control and smuggles them out as a major source of income.
The junta announced that it had raided covert drug laboratories in northern Shan State in the second week of January, seizing drugs and production equipment worth 1.62 trillion MMK.
At a press conference on January 14 about the drug manufacturing crackdown in northern Shan State, attended by some foreign journalists, junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun accused certain ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), including the KNU, of relying on drug production and trafficking as a major financial lifeline.
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee categorically denied the junta’s accusations.
“We are not an organization that survives on the drug trade. We are waging a revolution grounded in righteous principles. Although we know that some groups are involved in drug trafficking, the KNU should not be accused, as we have no ties whatsoever to such illegal activities. We have substantial evidence to prove that the junta’s allegations are entirely unfounded,” he said.
Last August, more than six million methamphetamine pills were seized in Hpa-An District, where the KNU’s Brigade 7 operates, and the KNU led an event to burn the seized pills. At that time, Padoh Naw Dah Dah, a member of the KNU’s central executive committee, asserted that the KNU had no involvement in drug trafficking.
The junta accused the KNU, the resistance-run National Unity Government (NUG), and the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the NUG’s armed wing, of smuggling drugs into Thailand via the Loikaw–Taungoo Road, which they control.
Meanwhile, the KNU has announced its willingness to cooperate with neighboring countries and the international community to combat methamphetamine smuggling through its controlled areas, as well as telecom scam operations along the Thai–Myanmar border.
“Drugs are the enemy of everyone, and everyone knows where telecom scams come from. You can’t tackle these problems by just putting on a show. It is the responsibility of each government to identify the real perpetrators. Destroying evidence is not the right way to act. We also want to make clear that we are willing to work with the international community in the fight against drugs and telecom scams,” said Padoh Saw Taw Nee.
The KNU has stated in sections 180–184 of the Kawthoolei Criminal Code that it will take action against drug producers operating in areas under its control.
In addition, the KNU regularly carries out anti-drug awareness campaigns in communities across its areas.
In addition, the KNU regularly carries out anti-drug awareness campaigns in communities across its areas. The Karen Unity and Peace Committee (KUPC), formed by four Karen armed groups including the KNU, has also signed an agreement to allow legal action against drug use, sale, and production in the KNU’s Brigade 7 territory in Hpa-An District.
However, some observers have pointed out that this commitment exists only on paper and that effective action has yet to be taken. In addition, local media have reported that drug trafficking continues in areas controlled by certain Karen EAOs.
