Pubdate: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand) Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2003 Contact: http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39 Authors: Maxmilian Wechsler and Songpol Kaopatumtip in Yunnan Note: This is the first of a two-part series on people and narcotics problems in the Yunnan province of China. MOUNTAINS OF DRUGS Despite opium poppy eradication programmes and tougher drug suppression methods in Thailand and China, heroin and methamphetamines continue to pour out of the Wa-controlled high country of northern Burma After a six-hour-long journey by taxi from Jinghong, the principal city of China's southern Yunnan province, we reached the border town of Mong Ah, where a bridge over the Namkam River separates it from Pangsang, the capital city of the Wa region in northern Burma. Along the road that cuts through mist-shrouded mountains dotted with hilltribe villages, we came across some luxury right-hand drive cars, including the expensive Mitsubishi Pajero and Honda SUV models, with number plates bearing the initials "NW", for North Wa. This is in sharp contrast to a small army of motorcycles, motorised rickshaws, and noisy tractors and trucks that were conspicuous in all the towns we passed through. Local villagers must be wondering what kind of business the Pajero drivers do to possess such expensive vehicles. We were stopped two times at military and police checkpoints where courteous but stone-faced officers searched our taxi and luggage, carefully examining our passports and recording all information in a log-book. One of us had made several trips to Mong Ah but had never encountered such checkpoints, obviously designed to keep track of outsiders who come near the Wa region, which is officially called the Special Region 2 of the Shan State in Burma (Myanmar). Most of the illicit drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine, are smuggled from the Wa regions into Yunnan province. Perhaps the relatively good road we travelled on makes it popular for drug smugglers. The opium harvest season is due to begin in a couple of weeks and it lasts until March. Raw opium is refined into heroin and finds its way to various parts of China, India, Laos, Thailand, and then further to Australia, Europe and the United States. That might be another reason for the checkpoints. A Wa businessman who returned from the northern Wa region said: "I saw large opium fields around Mongpeng, Mongpawk, Monglar towns and other places. Moreover, some United Wa State Army (UWSA) officials told me that the upcoming opium harvest would be slightly reduced from 2003. But as for the 2005 deadline set by the Wa leadership to completely eradicate opium growing in all Wa regions, I don't think it is realistic." With the exception of a few overly-optimistic Wa leaders, including UWSA chairman Pau You Chang, everyone else is pessimistic, said the businessman. "Some Wa leaders have called for postponement of the deadline to 2007. Many opium growers, who are also smokers, are extremely poor. They know only how to cultivate opium and nothing else. They can't survive otherwise." His assessment is shared by many anti-narcotics experts who say that unless there are some "very drastic" happenings in the next two years, opium growing can't be eradicated by 2005. "To be fair to the UWSA," said a well-informed Shan drug-watcher, "it is an indisputable fact that they succeeded in the eradication of many opium fields, but when this was done, the production of methamphetamines jumped dramatically, making up for the financial loss. So, we are back to square one." And there is another piece of bad news, he said. Cheap ecstasy pills and a synthetic drug called "ice" are now produced in the Wa region. Samples of the drugs might soon be smuggled into Thailand, he added. "Ice" is a translucent crystal, smokable form of methamphetamine. It is also called "glass" or "crystal" and, like other stimulants, it is highly addictive. According to the Shan source, the Wa region is controlled by only nine people, led by Pau You Chang. "No one can do anything without his permission and he knows everything," said the source. But in practice, added the source, Pau You Chang does not have much influence in the southern Wa region where his elder brother, Pau You Yi, reigns in the presence of powerful drug kingpin Wei Hseuh-kang and his two brothers. China Crackdown China gives military and economic support to the UWSA and its political wing, the United Wa State Party. But it has begun to lose patience with the Wa drug makers because of the continuous flow of narcotics into China. "We have been trying quietly to convince the Wa leaders that they should stop the drug gangs whose activities adversely affect the economic development and prosperity of our country," a Yunnan official said, adding that China has financed crop substitution and other projects in the Wa regions for about eight years. Thailand also finances the Wa's crop substitution programmes. In fact, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to visit Yong Kha town in the southern Wa region on December 26, where he will inspect a project which received 20 million baht from the Thai government. More such projects are likely to be supported to encourage Wa tribesmen to switch from opium to other cash crops or animal husbandry. Some industrial projects to create more jobs have also been initiated. The Burmese government has been making continuous efforts to reduce opium cultivation, as well as heroin and methamphetamine manufacturing, in Burma. These efforts were made through its anti-narcotic agency, the Central Committee for Drug Abuse, and the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), which has an office in Rangoon. Burma's campaign against drugs has been recognised by Chinese officials. Sun Dahong, secretary-general of the Yunnan Provincial Drug Control Commission, said: "The police cracked over 11,000 cases, with 13,700 people arrested on drug-related charges in 2001, and over 10 tons of drugs seized." "Thanks to the Myanmar police, some big cases were solved," he added. One such case was the discovery of a heroin processing factory in the Kokang region that resulted in the seizure of 53 tons of medicaments, a large quantity of drugs and processing equipment. A year earlier, Yunnan border police investigated 753 drug cases and seized 1,321 kg of drugs and arrested 1,038 traffickers. During March and April of this year alone, Chinese authorities seized almost 500 kg of heroin from two trucks near Ruili, in Yunnan. It is estimated that between 300-400 kg of heroin are smuggled into Yunnan every month as drug use rises in the province. Mr Wang Qihua, a section chief of the Drug Control Bureau of the Department of Public Security in Yunnan province, whose job is to stop precursor chemicals flowing into heroin and methamphetamine laboratories in the border regions of Burma, said: "In 2002, we seized 219 tons of precursors from 44 cases. Of these, 31 cases were destined for Myanmar and two for Laos." Surprisingly, or maybe not, a high-ranking Yunnan official in Jinghong, told Perspective that there is no drug problem in the province, and quickly changed the subject. His denial may signal that the drug situation is getting worse, and if made public, might damage the flourishing tourism industry of the province. Sophisticated Networks The UNODC stated in its recent report: "Trafficking of heroin through China has increased significantly over recent years, particularly along the 2,000 km border with Myanmar. Most seizures of Myanmar heroin now take place particularly in the Yunnan province bordering Myanmar. The Yunnan Provincial Narcotic Control Committee reported total provincial seizures of 8,000 kg in 2001, almost 3 times more than the year before. The same province reported seizures of 6,900 kg during 2002. In fact, heroin seizures in China doubled in 2001 compared to 2000, with 12,300 kg being seized during 2002." As drug smuggling continues, Yunnan authorities have to cope with drug addiction as well. In 2001, Yunnan had 54,000 registered addicts. Police noted that more and more drug users were taking synthetic drugs such as "ice." An ethnic Shan who resides in the southern Wa region told Perspective: "The Wa farmers, who are very poor, will sell the opium to the buyer who offers a good price. It will be re-sold to the next bidder and so on until it reaches the top buyer. Most of the buyers are ethnic Chinese, Kachin, Lisu, Lahu and Wa. Before, the buyers were primarily Chinese because they had lots of money." Because of security concerns, drug factories were moved during the last few years from the Thai border to isolated areas deep inside the Wa regions where very few people could enter, said the Shan. "These mobile facilities are guarded by heavily-armed men. It is now common that heroin and methamphetamine are made in the same factory. The drug gangs hire Chinese expert chemists who can produce the best quality drugs, with some Thais and Chinese financing the production," he added. Methamphetamine is made first into a block because it is easy to transport by car, boat or on foot to the Chinese or Thai borders, where it will be punched into tablets. This can be done almost anywhere and the machine can be moved so easily that detection is almost impossible, according to the source. Some tablet punching is done even inside China and Thailand. The tablets are stored and sold when requests are made by customers. The tablets come in three colours: green is the best quality and the most expensive, followed by orange and the cheapest, a light red colour. "Drug smuggling from the Shan State to China and Thailand involves a sophisticated network, with many people and many steps," the Shan source concluded. An ethnic Lahu who used to assist in the production of heroin told Perspective: "Normally four or five chemists, usually Chinese, produce heroin. They wear protective clothes but are still exposed to the poisonous chemicals and are able to work for not more than one month. Afterward, they will take 5-6 months rest. They are well paid and under careful watch by the gang. The factories are located along the border under the control of Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Chinese, Wa, Burmese and Kokang people." The chemicals used in making heroin and methamphetamine normally come from India, Thailand, Burma and China, but some are manufactured inside the Wa region, the source said, adding that it is "difficult" to bring the chemicals to the refinery. As the front-line nations bordering the Wa regions, China and Thailand must inevitably shoulder the biggest burdens of the drug scourge and its "side products", such as crime, Aids infection, death, and broken families, all of which cause a huge economic and social damage to the two countries. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman