Drug lord's death denied

No.04 - 6/2007
14 June 2007
Drugs
 
Drug lord's death denied
 
Sources close to the United Wa State Army (UWSA) have rejected rumors circulating yesterday about the recent death of Wei Hsuehkang (also spelled Wei Xuegang), key drug fugitive in Burma wanted by both the United States and Thailand.
 
A source who is doing business on the Sino-Burma border claims he ran into Wei, 61, the day before yesterday, 12 June. "He was very much alive then," he said." If he's dead, it must have taken place after the meeting. But everything in Panghsang (the Wa capital opposite China's Menglien) appears to be normal."
 
Ai Xiaohseu, former boss of Wei, was also quoted by a veteran border security officer as having no knowledge of the news that is making the rounds: "To my knowledge, only one of his relatives died of cancer two months earlier."
 
For more details on Wei Hsuehkang, see box, excerpted from SHAN's report Show Business.