HEROIN ROAD IN SE ASIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030053-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 10, 2005
• Sequence Number: 53
• Publication Date: September 10, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

46c
10 SEP 1972
Approved ,For Release 2@R /
, LDP74B00415R000400030053-3
,g
Mou .Seu, claiming immunity as a legislator,
has not yet been prosecuted. This immunity runs
out when the Assembly closes Nov. 11, and many
American officials take the view that if the Lao
government fails to prosecute Muo Seu under the
new law, cooperation in the drug fight will have
f ailed.
Sixty-six pounds of boiled opium have, been
confiscated from passengers on aircraft chartered
to U.S. government agencies by Air America and
Continental Airlines.
Since this flurry of activity, agents and run-
' ners have been eyeing each other warily.
"Nobody is buying opium for the international
market," an informed U.S. official. said.
Americans say the 1972 opium crop harvested
in January and February has not been sold inter-
nationally because of the crackdown. This judg-
ment is based on a drop in opium prices indicating
a glut on the market on the Burmese side of the
bor'der.
To date, opium and heroin have followed cer-
tain routes, and the Americans are concentrating
first on closing off these routes. The flow of heroin
follows the line of least resistance, one U.S. offi-
cial said "We will stop it coming one way and it
will flow around us. The traffickers will find new
routes and we will close them off till it's no longer
worthwhile. We can pinch the flow off across
Thailand and Laos eventually, but the traffickers
can always move through Burmese territory to
Rangoon and the By of Bengal and there won't be
much we can do about it. We have no political
Stalemate leverage in Burma."
American officials say about 450 tons of opium
Agents of the Treasury and Bureau of Nar- are produced annually in Burma's Shan and Wa
cotics and Dangerous Drugs say that, after ini- statue opium flows out of the hills to the walled
tial successes, they have reached a stalemate in p
the fight against drug traffickers along the city of Kengtung. From Kengtung it follows the
borders. Burmese road system to Tachilek opposite the
Earlier this year agents knocked out two hero- Thai town of Mai Sai. There are at least eight
in refineries in villages just north of Ban Houei heroin refineries around Tachilek.
Sai., At one of them, Lao military officials, who From Tachilek heroin moves in two direc-
denied running the refinery, burned buildings as a tions, one across the border into Thailand and
sign of good faith to show their willingness to stop through Thailand's busy road net, the other east
the trade after considerable American pressure. from Tachilek to a point just north of the area
Later American narcotics agents and Laos' where Burma, Laos and Thailand come to-
tough new drug squad leader, Gen: Khammu Bou- gether.
sarrath, took away truck loads of equipment from The heroin crosses into Laos from Burma at
the burned refinery, including, ether in 10-gallon. Muong Iii village then continues down to the Yao
drums, acetone and acedic anhydrate, all used in tribes'. headquarters at Nam Keun on the Mekong
heroin manufacture. River.
But the all-important chemist was never In the Nam Keun area there are also heroin
caught. refineries which handle not only Burmese opium,
In Vientiane Gen. Khammu raided the house ? but opium grown by the Lahti and Ekaw tribes in
of 'a Nati.d' a'ft~l f ka~Ci7sh~ Laos.
Mou Seu,`'a n l /22CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030053-3
By TAMMY ARBUCKLE
Special to The Star-News
VIENTIANE-"I have the fastest boat on the
river," boasted the Lao colonel as he swigged
another glass of throat-burning rice whisky at a
party in Ban Houei Sai, a Lao garrison town.
Nobody could dispute the colonel's claim, for
the. previous record-holder - a big Chrysler be-
longing to American Treasury and Customs offi-
cers - had a burned-out engine after someone had
surreptitiously drained the oil from its crank case.
The prime suspect of U.S. officials is none
other than the Colonel and his henchmen, who,
they believe, are in the opium and heroin trade.
"The river" is the mighty Mekong, now swol-
len by monsoon rains. From Yunnan in China it
plunges in a brown mass of whirlpools and form-
ing eddies, over giant rock outcroppings that could
dash a boat to pieces between the sloping green
hills that make excellent land for poppy-growing.
? If the river doesn't kill the unwary traveller
he faces the peril of an arrow fired from a
crossbow of Shan or Ekaw tribesmen or bullets
from a I;lo musket or a Kuomintang carbine.
The whole area-Burma on one bank and Laos
on the other-is the battleground for American
narcotics agents and heroin smugglers and refin-
ers. The sabotaged boat is just a skirmish in the
battle that; started last November, when the Unit-
ed States persuaded the Lao government to pass
anti-narcotics laws.
 Approved For'Release 2005/06/22 : CIA-RDP74BOO415R000400030053-3
Private Armies Washing Powder
The opium is transported by caravans of small
hill ponies guarded by tribesmen of various pri-
vate armies. The largest of these armies is-the
Kha Kwei Yei, known as KKY by U.S. agents,
consisting of about 1,000 men commanded by Lo
Sing Hang, who controls the refineries at Tachilek,
the capital of heroin manufacture.
Agents . say they are well disciplined, putting
out good perimeter security when the caravans
stop and flank scouts when the caravans are
moving.
To confuse matters there are other groups of
KKY troops who have nothing to do with Lo Sing
Hang who hire themselves out as caravan guards
in between bouts of organized banditry. There is
also another private army called the Do Ko in the
Shan state area which currently is engaged in
fights with Chinese Communist-organized Ekaw
tribesmen.
On the Burmese side of . the border there is
also the Shan state army warring with Burmese
government troops. All these private armies as
well as parts of the Burmese army and customs
are 'believed to be involved in the opium trade.
The opium pays for their arms, which are
supplied by the U.S. to Laotians, sold by the Lao
to the Thais, then passed on-into Burma.
Further downstream on the Mekong come the
Kuomintang National Chinese who also provide
.guards for caravans not only in Burma but in
Laos, too..
They include the ragtag remnants of troops
defeated in China in 1949 who have taken up
residence in Burma, Thailand and Laos near'Chi-
! na's border. They are commanded by General Ly.
? About 800 yards northeast of the Yao tribal
towel of Nam Keun there is a Kuomintang or KMT
camp commanded by a Colonel Wu. The camp has
a basketball court and long thatched hut which
serves as a barracks.
Colonel Wu makes a living on Lao territory by
protecting heroin and opium in the stretch from
the border at Muong Hi down to Nam Keun. I
visited Nam Keun but saw no trace of the opium
trade, apart from two old addicts and their narcot-
ics equipment. To walk into Wu's camp would not
be particularly wise or healthy I was advised.
-The chief of the Yao tribes and the main
suspect of U.S. officials is graying Chao La. One
U.S. official summed him up this way: "Chao La
is a businessman. As chief of the Yao he must
look after their economic interests amongst other
things. He handles the extraction of wood and
sawmilling and many other things, but the Yaos'
most important sources of income is probably-
opium, so he.has to handle that, too."
Rather embarrassingly, Chao La has been in
charge. of recruiting troops from his Yao to fight
in the irregular forces for the Central Intelligence
Agency. .
The Americans' other main suspect is Col.
Khampai Saynasaith who as commander of volun-
teer battalion 18 at Ban Houci Sai may be protect-
ing heroin in the next stage of travel.
Both Khampai apd Chao La vehemently deny
involvement in the drug trade. 'Chao La says he
has not been involved in drug trafficking since
Heroin reaching Ban Houei. Sai is flown out by
Lao military transports and also, the Americans
suspect, by T28 divebombers. American officials
report that on several occasions when divebomb-
ers have landed in Ban Houei Sai to load up with
bombs, Lao crews have wandered into the town.
When'the ' divebombers rev up to take off, a taxi
appears at the last minute by back roads and
packages are handed over. Pilots say the pack-
ages contain a white powder but that it's washing
powder.
Besides this main drug route into Ban Houei
Sai there are various boat crossing points along
the Burma-Laos border where Americans believe
opium may be cargo.
During my stay in the Ekaw tribe village
about two miles south of the border, I saw plenty
of evidence there was opium in the area. I slept
one night on a wooden platform in a bamboo hut
as the Ekawg' guest. Two Ekaws next to me spent
several hours smoking opium - more than 50
pipes apiece.
The opium is what John Greenough of Ft.
Smith, Ark., coordinator of U.S. AID in the north-
west Laos area, called "mama papa" opium, for
local consumption. The tribesmen throughout- east-
ern Burma and northern. Laos use it as a pain
killer and a source of relaxation.
This trade presents American and Lao offi-
cials with a dilemma. It is obviously not designed
for international trade and transformation into
heroin.
J It is .doing no harm and may be doing some
good. Should this opium be confiscated and the
fields destroyed it would bring great unpopularity
to the Lao government and the United States in -
the area where the war with Communists is being
fought.
On the other hand, -if every bit of opium that
can be found is confiscated, the locals will have to
buy opium from Burma and Laos that normally
would have gone into the international market.
Another strange quirk has appeared in the
opium traffic pattern. The pro-Communist Pathet
Lao have gotten into the act, capitalizing on traf-
fickers' cupidity by selling fake opium.
Fake opium consists of chopped up banana
stalks and tamarind leaves made into a ball the
same size as an opium loaf and dipped into boiling
opium. Unless every opium loaf is plugged and a
sample taken from the center it is practically
impossible to tell the difference from real opium.
The Pathet Lao earn cash from its sale. At the
same time they are clear of the drug traffic which
they abhor.
. In, the battle against this array of private
armies and local officials the U.S. Government
has pitted the resources of several government
agencies and considerable amounts of money.
. The principal agencies involved are the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency and the Bureau of Narcot-
ics and Dangerous Drugs. The U.S. Treasury..
through its Customs Unit and the public safety
department of U.S. AID are also involved.
1967: U.S. offic ,O ESr rftMKtetl'g/06/22: b1AeFkD'R4B0 4199 WW3QO~t um
men that woul n up in a court. .fields and the whereabouts of heroin refineries.
The CIA was chosen, officials say, because it
COft:illued
 Approved For Release 2005/06/22: CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030053-3
It has both American and Asian agents who in trade. In Northwest Laos the person iii question is
Tja'T~$-11~tri}TP'~lrug
the course of running irregular forces composed of has Chief_Chao La,_~.ho m~,.
its niilitar activities. To get rid
y
l
as
tribesmen and Laotians engaged against North t~affic as wel
th
ge
Vietnamese and Pathet Lao travel all over the
Laos mountains and have command of the Lao
language as well as some tribal languages.
The CIA draws on knowledge of local customs
and personalities gathered over the last12.years ....
of war that the Narcotics Bureau, a newcomer to
Laos, lacks:
Accusations of drug trafficking have been
made against the CIA, but are believed to be
inaccurate. The agency, with its $120 million an-
nual allotment for Laos, has no need of funds from.
! opium sales to run the war.
The, charges against the agency stem from
three. things. In the mid-sixties the CIA may have
allowed Meo, officers to transport 'opium on Air
America aircraft in order to gain their support for
Gen. Vang Pao against the Communists. Thi
officials say does not happen now nor is it be-
' This reporter has flown throughout most of
Air American
northeast and northwest Laos on
aircraft and in the last eight months watched
countless' aircraft takeoff from Long Cheng and
other ail-strips. K one has carried opium cargoes.
U.S. officials?in the area are young and rather
patriotic and say they would rather quit their jobs
than become' involved in drug trade. Today, all
-Air America aircraft carry a notice in Lao,Thai,
Chinese and English. saying "Notice to passes-
gdrs; Possession or transport of opium or any
narcotic product' made from opium is a violation
of' Lao and Thai law and is absolutely forbidden
aboard this aircraft. The carrier has the right to
deny passage to anyone carrying an. opium prod-
uct or who refuses to submit to search of his
person or of his luggage by persons authorized to
do so."
At, all main, Laos airports every passenger is
I searched by U.S. or Lao officials from the U.S. _
S
er vice.
till ,..5ecp rii.y investlgativi,
Irregular Troops
Another reason charges are made against the
CIA is th=.t r'esrite !,11 t'e?e,.,recaui.ions the irre?-
.
utrr' troops themselves still.carry opiur'i in their.
field:. packs when t'?~?
oh?isolated hilltop airstrips. These air strips are
often 'under shellfire. Troops throw themselves
and their gear aboard the helicopters and the
crew chiefs, trying to keep the troops from over-
loading the helicopters, take off without checking
_#or_.opium on the troops,
To stop, this . transporting of raw or boiled
opium on U.S. aircraft, the CIA has arranged for,
'irregulars to be searched when they come into
irregular bases. At Nam Yu an irregular troops
.'base 25 miles northeast of Ban Houel Sal, on the
morning of Aug. 26 Laos miltaiy police took 400
grams (about one pound) of opium from. an irregu-
lar'soldier coming off an aircraft.
Since irregulars returning from, combat ?al-
,ways are sent first to places such as Nam Yu or
Long Cheng U.S. officials feel a search at these
points away from danger 'areas but before the
h towns o families is best. A third
e
s
e a
of this stone around its neck
tarted paying afl _trQaps__dit'ectly_thr gh its
American case officers and their assistants.
e agency us ypasses Chao La because
be Is 'no longer needed. for recruiting.
American officials say Chao La protested the
system and claimed no Lao would follow the
Americans without his say so. The Americans
shrugged and sat back to. see where, the Lao would
,gravitate, and won their bet.
rZ. , "I see this Ias gradual elimination of Chao La
and others who we feel are not cooperating with us
.against the drug traffic" a U.S. official said. While
'the. CIA looks after the intelligence angle, U.S.
-Treasury and narcotics agents try to block opium
routes and search for heroin refineries.
Americans have set up four customs posts. In
the dry season areas 'in between will be covered
by U.S. and Lao agents riding radio-equipped
Suzuki motorcycles on forest trails.
In Ban Ilouei Sai the U.S. installed $80,000
worth of radio and other equipment which allows
messages to be sent without local military eaves-
dropping. In addition, nine Laotians who'work for -
a special Lao anti-narcotics group headed by Gen.
Khammu are installed in Ban Iiouci Sai and other
areas.
Of Gen. Khammu's toughness there is no doubt
among U.S. officials. Acting on tips he grabs Lao
public prosecutors, hauls them before Premier
Souvanna Phouma, asks for search warrants on
suspected houses, then still holding onto the prose-
cutor so he cannot tip off traffickers, makes his
raid.
Threatening Letters
Since the general raided deputy Mou Seu he
has been receiving threatening letters, but lie
seems determined to carry on. The general usual-
ly leads the raids ott houses and suspected heroin ?
refineries in person. . ' '
In the quest for informants the narcotics bu-
reau is offering rewards of up to $2;000 in U.S.
currency for information leading to seizure of a
refinery.
. Unfortunately, some rewards are split 70 per-
cent to the arresting agency, 30 percent to the
informer, and informants are exposed to great
danger in Northwest Laos and Burma.
American agents also use Air America planes
in their, search for likely producing refineries. The
refineries are difficult to spot. One of them, for
example, consisted of only_ three thatched huts,
although it was a complete laboratory, with every-
thing from an electric generator for water distilla-
tion to a plastic sealer for heroin bags.
Two significant "fingerprints" refinery agents
look for are the presence of a stream or small
river and large bowls of white markings caused by
quicklime used in the heroin process.
This reporter spent several hours with one
agent looking over the terrain on the Laos-Burma
border in a light Air America aircraft and saw
how. tough it is to spot anything among the
jungle-covered ridges of hills. In odd clearings or
tucked away under trees are tiny villages which
:troops l
gharge_ a }~i~ir4t~?e Ik4i i t i81sen4~ 2 i : Cddia Fi~~4B0i04ll6R0004000'30053-3
}vith ersonalities suspected abeing in e ru
continued..
 Approved For Release 2005/06/22 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400030053-3
? With all these measures and some luck with
Informants, U.S. officials hope they will eventually
seal 'off Laos as a transit route for drug traffick-
ers.
"We hope it just won't be worth while any
more for them to spend time and money and risk
their investments trying to find ways round us," a
U.S. official said.
"The heroin refineries are dormant now we
think, but they'll probably try thi; Tachilck, Nam
Keun, Ban Houei Sat route again in the next few
months. Both sides (agents and traffickers) are
sitting back eyeing each other, figuring out ways
and means. There may even be some shooting
before all this is over."
There are several gaping holes in U.S. de-
fenses. One is that agents cannot cross into Bur-
ma and hit refineries there because of the state
of relations between Burma and the United States.
Another loophole is the Lao themselves.
Agents are not authorized to search Lao civil and
military aircraft. In some cases Lao agents of
Gen. Khammu can make searches but usually do
so only after a tipoff. This leaves the job to the
Lao police. Unfortunately there is some evidence
that Lao police cover up for traffickers. Police,
judging from their handling of street gang fights
in Vientiane,' are just not a capable law enforce-
ment agency. ? -
The CIA warns irregulars they will be dropped
from payrolls if caught trafficking, but the :United
States seems to have little leverage on the Lao
army though it is involved ' in paying, training
and equipping it. . ,
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