U. S. DRUG AGENTS FOCUS ON BURMA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030018-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 10, 2005
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: November 9, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Releas ltQ%ITfRg` FW400415R000400030018-2
BANGKOK Narcotics
traffickers;:have: stockpiled
,hundreds ot. poilnds.of pure
heroin In_north Burma and
are trying to. establish a
connection. to lucrative mar-
kets in the`, United States.
In the meantime, U.S..and .,
Thai narcotics agents who
have tightened their grip on
routes for heroin and opium
traffic 'are watching from`
across the border.
Informed sources here
who have watched the stock-
piles build up, say a wary
standoff has developed in
the "Golden Triangle" -
the border area of Thailand,
Laos and Burma where the
Southeast, Asian narcotics
trade is centered.
intelligence, reports indi
Cate that narcotics traffick
ers, mostly o v e r s e a s
Chinese, have considered'
killing U.S. narcotics agents
to clear the bottleneck.
"Eventually they'll start
to move the stuff," said a
local source, "and things
will start to happen, The
question, is when."
Pure Heroin
Sources who monitor the
,narcotic traffic say produc-
ers in north Burma have on
hand several hundred
pounds of neatly packaged,
pure grade No. 4 white her-
oin, which looks like soap
powder.
# Manufactured in refiner-
fes that are in some cases al-
most within sight of the
?Nam Ruak River forming
the 'boundary . between
Burma and Thailand more
than 400 miles north of
,Bangkok, the heroin was in-
tended for the GI market in
South. Vietnam. The produc-
ers were caught unaware
by the U.S. withdrawal, the
sources say.
U.S. Drug Agents,.
Focus on Burma
By Robert Kaylor
United Press International
Traffickers are now look-
ing for connections in other
arkets, including the
United States, which now
lets an estimated 5 to 10 per
,Oent of its heroin from
Southeast Asia.
"These boys haven't even
.4pped the U.S. market yet,"
aid one source here.
4'' That they are interested
.
M,as demonstrated by the ar-
st of two Chinese who
Rd a suitcase full of heroin
~ an undercover narcotics
ent in New York's China-
lent
wn this summer. The her-
h was traced to Southeast
p Tons
Narcotics, authorities esti-
ate that about 700 tons of
'um are produe each
ar in the junglecmoun-
ins of the Golden Trian-
&1e; mostly in Burma. While
liailand and Laos cooper-
e with the United States
combating narcotics
affic, Burma does not..
The authorities believe
of of the -opium is used in
it ie area where it is grown,
and another 200 to 250 tons
are used in Hong Kong and
other places in Southeast the Thai investigators who
Asia where there is a large make the haul, and they dis-
addict population. That tribute it among their in-
leaves 50 tons or more unac- formants.
counted for, enough to pro- Sources here., say the re-
duce at least five tons of luctance of traffickers to
high grade heroin- move large quantities of
The major route foi the opium since two big seizures
opium has been across the, in July of more than 6,000
borders into Thailand, then pounds is proof the system
by highway to the Bangkok works.
area and from the Thai Heroin is still plentiful
coast by fishing trawler to in Bangkok and at the U.S
Hong Kong and the rest of military bases in Thailand,
the world. as was discovered by a more
About a dozen U.S. nar- efficient syster '. of testing
cotics agents have moved GI's which went into effect
into Thailand, some of them in July,
operating ira the, far north. A vial of pure heroin that
ern Thai sector of the Gold- would sell for. $500 in the
en Triangle. United States can be bought
The Thai police last April for $5 in Thailand.
formed a 30-man Special Authorities , say, big-time
Narcotics Operation to work traffic through Thailand has
in north Thailand. While- dried up temporarily, They
U.S. and Thai agents cannot 'cite the crackdown and tem-
work in Burma, they have porary_ loss of.. q;big market
formed their own network. is the cause.
of informants and also en- "What keeps a connection
listed the aid of the U.S. together is a combination of
Central Intelligence Agency, faith and trust in the guy
which has been active in the you're dealing . with," said
area for the past 20 years. one source here. "It takes
Smuggling Rings time to build that up."
Since the Special Narcot- The sources added that
ics Operation started work, heroin is a product that
it has seized more than five does not deteriorate sitting
tons of opium, heroin and on the shelf,' and that the
other drugs and broken up men who run the Golden
smuggling networks which 'triangle drug traffic can af-
used dummy gasoline tank 'ford to wait.
trucks and opium runners in
Thai army officers' uniforms
to get past checkpoints.
Mucli of the operation's
success has been through
cash awards running up to
$2,000 for large drug sei-
zures. The money is paid to
Approved For Release 2005/06/22 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030018-2
 D iu i ER, COLO. 7
ROCKY INT. Dvagas
f coved For Release 2005/06/22
M - 192,279
S _ 209
887
,
NOV 51924
New book delves info problem .
Rattikone was until last year owner of the larg- ....~.b,. -1 j1111~~ --- u.' A;g r"`' CUILL 11111
Ye the district officer's account. In 1969 and 19'
est heroin refinery in Southeast Asia. Gen. Meo officers helicoptered into Tan Son village
Thao Ma is former commander of the Laotian hiked to Nam Ou, and purchased the opiur
Air Force. harvest, then continued on their way to. Nai
After several more interviews in Vientiane, Suk and Long Pot.
McCoy told us he took a bus out of Luana n11,,, ,-,,.-.,.
By JIM MORRELL
For Pacific News Service
A doctoral candidate in Chinese History at
Harvard University, Jim Morrell has previously
written for scholarly journals in the Asian Studies
field.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - "It's a
over the, mountains, By nightfall lie reached a;
damned lie. You can say THAT!" We
al,
E
Were asking, Arthur Berry Richardson t small village, spending a sleepless night under
..., .. ~.u i. uixa..a ?a.u, vvcta VLIU Vr Ulu Lng-
gest opium. shippers in the world.
"We've discussed them at our board
meeting, these scurrilous articles.
4- 41- 1)
b A
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e
i
d
t
h
t
ur
a
er
e
ca
ec
1
rs, anything that moves or - .. a...aA~
Last
month Harper & Row published Alfred breathes or gives off warmth." copters in late 1970.
McCoy's long-awaited book, "Tile Politics of The next morning .McCoy and an interpreter But reports of heavy casualties came In an
heroin in Southeast Asia." The heavily docu- walked down from the mist-enveloped moon- the village refused to send more. Ger Su Yans
mented book is based on some 240 interviews tains into the village of Long Pot, 10 miles west described what happened next: "The Amerl
with CI ., tits, Bureau of Narcotics officials, of the Plain of Jars. There, under the shadow cans in Long Chieng said I must send all the
top Laotian military commandos, and opium- of 6,200-foot Mt. Phou Phachau, which domi- rest of our men. But I refused. So they stopper
growing Moo tribesmen. And it presented strik- nates the entire district, McCoy had reached dropping rice to us. The last rice drop was is
ing evidence that Air America has been flying the head of the Opium Trail.
February this year."
i
eV- s
nce 1965. I The village of Long Pot is a Meo community Fight or starve - this was the CIA's answe
When asked specifically about McCoy's of 47 wooden dirt-floored houses. It is one of 12 to the villagers of Long Pot. Air America flee
interviews with the Meo opium farmers whose Alec, and Lao Theung villages that make up the village's young men away to fight and re
harvest was flown out on Air America, all Ar- Long Pot District. One of the oldest bieo vil- turned their corpses to the. village - profes
thur Richardson would say was: "Some guy lages in Northeast Laos, it has a tradition of po- sionally wrapped in sanitary plastic bags.
dunks he's clever. Just take my word for it. litical power and is the home of District Officer For the CIA the Moos offered a convenier
Goodby! Ger Su Yang. According to Ger Su Yang, the instrument for keeping alive their war in Laos
Interviews with the publicity-shy directors ; village households produce 15 kilos (33 pounds) but for the 4Teos their alliance with the CIA arrc
of Air America tend to be brief but emotional of opium apiece. They are guaranteed an ade- Air America has only brought disaster. tyre}
affairs. For years Air America, the CIA's ""pri- quate food supply by Air America rice drops. have been decimated and the survivors hav?
vate" charter airline in Southeast Asia, has In return, officers of the CIA's "clandestine fled the hills for the refugee camps around
indi
nantl
denied
i
l
i
g
y
any
nvo
vement
n the army" (led by the Meo Chieftain Vang Pao>,jLong Chieng.
Southeast Asian heroin traffic
This
ear
.
y
, pay them a high price for the opium. Th
though, fewer people than ever seem inclined
to take their word for it. source of yang Peso's money, of course, is th
MOTTO IS NO IDLE. BOAST QA.
boast. From dusty airstrips in the lVieo hill be observed : close enough to Long C3tieng still
country they have been airlifting the raw to be controlled by yang Pao but far enough to
opium to laboratories in Long Chieng or Vieti, escape the fighting. The Moo tribesmen's only
ane where it is refined into No. 4 heroin (90 to cash crop is opium, and the CIA's deal with
99 per cent pure), then smuggled abroad by yang Pao, badly put, comes to this: you send
Corsican gangsters or Laotian diplomats for us soldiers and we'll buyyour opium.
ultimate disposal in U.S. markets. The 47 households' harvest of 700 kilos' of
The Opium Trail leads from the poppy fields opium will yield 70 kilos of pure morphine base
of the Southeast Asian "Fertile Triangle" (of after it has been boiled, processed and pressed
Burma, Thailand, and Laos which now produce into bricks. Then further processed. in one of
over 70 per cent of the world's opium supply) the region's seven heroin labs, the Long Pot
right to the waiting arms of America's estimat- Worth %500 to the villagers of Long Pot, it will
Air America began flying opium to markets in bought up by merchant caravans, but these border" statements flowing from tl- Whit
Long Chieng and VierALaoBY~ei` . 1# s? fOBV22af l~l ?P 1~000MIS1 ?30018-2
-"s C VI. J 1neU..111 1eLu,-IL fur InC rice crops an
and, when the road gave out, started hikin
opium purchases, Vang Pao and the CIA ket
vans of Vang Pao's men. But the 1969, 1970 at
1971 opium harvests were flown out in A
America UH-11-IL'Iiuey,ti helicopters.
RENDEZVOUS IS DESCRMVD
District Officer Ger Su Yang described t'
'rendezvous with Air America: "Meo office:
With three or four stripes (captain or rnajo
came from Long Chieng to buy our opiur.
They came in American helicopters, perhal
two or three men at a time. The helicopt
'leaves them here for a few days and they wa
to villages over there (swinging his arm In
semi-circle in the direction of Gier Coot, Lot
Makkhay and Nam Pac), then come back her
and radio Long Chieng to send another helices
ter for them. They take the opium back to Lot
Chieng." The pilots were always American,
and the Meo army traders did the buying.
The head man of Nam On, a Lao Theur
demanding soldiers._USAID (United States At
ency for International 'elopment) built
school in the -village, and ',,Mr. Pop" (Edga
somewhere," he said. "Sometimes it was far'Buel]' then the CIA's chief operative in La
away and sometimes it seemed right overhead, had high hopes for the place, but in 1.970 Van
And every so often you would hear the sound of Pao demanded that all the young men in th
its mini-guns going off-600 rounds a minute at village including 15 year-olds join his arrn:
CIA-RDP74B00415R0004QWJ )1,~i y were replaced by pony ear
ed when "allied" fighters napalmed the villag and three nearby Lao Theung villages. And
Vietnam's National Liberation Front renortet
that on Jan. 10, 1972, units of the Lao Pooplc'.
Liberation Army took Long Pot.
Because of the fighting, in fact, Laos wil
only account for a fraction of Southeast Asia'i
estimated 1,000-ton 1972 harvest, and Air
America may he shipping more dead bodies
than opium this year.
Revelations like these in McCoy's boot
made the CIA so nervous that they contacte.
the publisher and insisted on a prior review. a
unprecedented move. After considerable arr't
twisting, Harper & Row reluctantly agreed, jot
found the CIA's critique of the book unin pr,'er
tractor, the trail of responsibility leads clir-CC