Hundreds of millions of speed pills stranded in Tachilek

Hundreds of millions of speed pills stranded in Tachilek

By Moengzay and Seng Khao Haeng

Due to the recent closure of the several private checkpoints along the River Sai that divides Shan State's Tachilek and Thailand's Maesai, hundreds of millions of amphetamine (yaaba) pills have been lying idle in Tachilek's warehouses, informed sources have reported.

Last month, the Thai army, in cooperation with the police and civilian authorities, began closing off some checkpoints "owned" by a well-known local Thai godfather. " His fee for using his highly secure conduits was one baht per pill. As yaaba was crossing the river at the rate of millions of pills each night, the shutdown cost him considerably, " said a source. " He started asking questions why other private checkpoints were allowed to operate while his alone were singled out for closure. The result was the plugging of all venues except the official gateway across the Maesai bridge."

Sources that S.H.A.N. talked to all agreed that at least a hundred speed pills were stranded on the other side of the river.

"The authorities arrested people who each had, in their possession, no more than 10 milligrams of heroin and sentenced them to 5 years' imprisonment," another source said, referring to reports made by the junta's daily, The New Light of Myanmar. "But they are turning a blind eye to millions of these yaama (horsepill, another name for amphetamines) and blocks of heroin belonging to the bosses.

However many observers have commented that the job of closing off the porous 2,400-km-long boundary will remain a totally impossible task until significant political change for the better takes place in Burma.