Poppy farmers pay tax to Burma Army

Poppy farmers pay tax to Burma Army

Sources from eastern Shan State told S.H.A.N. yesterday (6 November), the first crop of the season along the border had been harvested recently and farmers were paying tax to the local Burma Army units. 

"It is B. 400 for every viss (1.6 kg) that we produce," said a villager from Nakawngmu, 27 miles north of BP-1, opposite Chiangmai province. 

Nakawngmu, once a small village in Mongton Township, Monghsat District, became known as the district's "drug capital" soon after the surrender of warlord Khun Sa's MongTai Army in 1996. 

The price of opium, due to kind weather, is down from last year's. New opium is B. 12, 000 per viss, while old opium fetches B. 17,000. The price in January was B. 20,000, according to a S.H.A.N. report on 23 January 2001. 

S.H.A.N. however was unable to obtain information about current heroin prices from the said sources. 

There are 4 standing battalions in Mongton Township: IB 65, IB 225, IB 277 and LIB 519. 

Update: 30 November 

Heroin is B. 220,000 per block (700 gm). Far Eastern Economic Review, 29 November, reports a significant increase in the heroin export.