United Wa State Army (UWSA) liaison office in-charge in Lashio, Nyi Run, said that they had arrested a drug trafficking gang with over 4.8 million tablets on October 2 with an exchange of fire.

“We can say they were travelling to the Thai side of the border. We waited for them coming after getting a tip-off and could arrest them,” Nyi Run said.

The UWSA were able to arrest some men from this drug gang with 1.8 million amphetamine tablets on October 1 and more men from this gang were arrested on October 2 in the evening with 4.8 million tablets after a search for them in the jungle and after an exchange of fire with them.

In an UWSA press statement a platoon commander of UWSA from 171st Military Region led a team which could arrest some men from this gang on October 1 in exchange of fire which killed two of them and eight members of this drug gang were arrested alive and then on October 2 six more men from this gang were killed and one was arrested alive.

The statement says they were able to seize one M 16 rifle with 40 rounds of ammunition, two RPG shells, three flint-lock guns and one M 20 pistol from this drug gang.