U.S. NARCOTICS OFFICIALS CALL BURMA SITE ASIA DRUG CAPITAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030035-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 10, 2005
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: September 26, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 20 /06 TUA'k P74BOO415R000400030035-3
2 6 SEP 1972
TACIIILEK, Burma, Sept. 2:i
[AP]---United htates narcotics
officials say this sleepy river
town is the dru ; capital of
Asia and the gateway for
Asian_ drugs destined for the
U. S.
Somewhere in. the t o w. n
there is said to be a large-
scale opium refinery owned by
a mysterious Chinese named
Yunnanese,and hill-tribes peo-
ple.
;'achilek, with I population
of J0,000, is across the Mae
Sai River from _;T e j in
Thailand. The t .vc e
connected Oy -.P",Lieto
bridge, the terminus of Thai
Highway 1 running due south
for 500 miles to the capital at
Bangkok.
This highway is one of the
most important arteries for
Lo Ifsing-hap and managed by Asia's drug traffic. Narcotics
his brother Lo Using-min. TheI officials say drugs travel this
morphine route to Bangkok, Saigon,
factory turns oust -,
base, red rock heroin, and Laos, Hong Kong, and even-
pure No. 4 heroin for sale
abroad.
meets Hostile Silence
questions about drugs are
met with hostile silence from
the townspeople-a mixture of
Thai, Burmese, Laos, Shan,
The bridge here is guarded
at the Burmese side by two
soldiers, one of them carrying
an old Thompson submachine
gun. The Burmese flag flutters
over the small customs office
just off the road.
No Passports Needed .
Stalls offer cheap Thai-made
trinkets. The Burmese allow
Thais to cross from Mae Sai
during daylight hours. The
Thais offer the same facility-
no passports are needed.
Thai police and military offi-
cials who. make the journey
-take off insignia of'rank and
leave them and their sidearms
on the Thai side before they
cross.
No cameras are allowed:
Thai officials said a Thai who
infringed this rule was arrest-
ed and has not been heard of
since.
There is an air of conspiracy
in this town.
Apart from being the head-
quarters of Lo llsin '-han, who
is said to be the opium king of
Asia, Tachilek is also a major
smuggling center. -
Goods from Thailand come
in for sale in the flourishing
Burmese black market, which
feeds on the shortages of. Bur-
close to the Chines" border.
Mule caravans bring opium to
the factory at TacbiIck--dhe
biggest of several alon th
border-for refining; to heroin,
narcotics officials say.
1,00 Togs a Year
About 1,000 tons of opium
are produced each year in thi
herder rep i011 of Laos, Thai-
land, and Burma, an area
rna's nationalized economy. I called the Golden Triangle.
The goods move from Tachilek I The Burmese side of tl.e
north to Ken Tung and from
there to Mandalay and even-
tually Rangoon. .
Policing of Border
Policing of the border for
border is a no man's land and
the government has little con-
trol over it. Private armies
roam freely.
The Thais, in response to
sinugging and drugs is a hard prodding from the U. S., are
job for both the Thais and the making all effort to halt the
Burmese. The river is easily
forded. .
The Burmese have 14 check
points in 11 miles along this
section of the border. These
don't stern to deter traffic in
contraband. Opium traffickers
use side roads and pony trails
t h r u the hills, bypassing
checkpoints.
The Thais developed an in
depth tactic of five roadblocks
in 37 miles on main highways
in an effort to halt the drug
trade. This paid off in recent
months. 11) seizures in June
and July the Thais made hauls
worth many millions of dol-
lars.
Most of the opium that finds
its way to Tachilek is grown
in Burma, especially in areas
flow of drugs across the, bor-
cler. They have established task
forces in the towns of Lana-
pang and Chiang Mai with
help from the U. S. Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous
Drugs.
The United Nations has a
coordinator in Chiang Mai who
is assisting the Thais with a
program which aims to con-
vince tribesmen that they can
prosper by growing crops oth-
er than opium.
In Burma, the government
has been slow to take action.
"They don't want to stir the
bees in the hive," said one
official.
"That's why a heroin
factory can function in Tachi-
lek without fear of reprisals
from the authorities." '
Approved For Release 2005/06/22 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030035-3