July 9th, 2022
The State Administration Council (SAC), Border Guard Forces (BGF) and other ceasefire signatories are receiving hundreds of millions of kyats in tolls from illegal trucks smuggling goods across the Thai-Myanmar border via the old Dawna Hills route, locals report.
After the military coup, the illegal trucks stopped using the original Asian Highway and switched to the Kawkareik- Nabu- Htilon-Hpa-An road, which is the former hill route.
The soldiers of SAC, BGF and KNU/KNLA-PC collect hundreds of thousands from tolls every day by operating toll gates at the top of the villages, said a resident of Naung Ta Pwe village.
“The groups that put up the gates and collect the tolls get so much money that they can even build houses and buy cars and gold. About 100 to 200 trucks pass through the road. From 5000 kyats for a small car, they collect between 30,000 and 50,000 kyats for big trucks, depending on the amount of cargo, so their daily income is hundreds of thousands,” the local told the Karen Information Center (KIC).
There are checkpoints of SAC and BGF on the old hill road as well as KNU/KNLA-PC and BGF on the village-to-village road. In total there are about 30 checkpoints along the route.
Illegal trade has damaged the village road, but the locals do not dare to mention the reapair of the damaged road, said the local.
“The more it rains, the worse the road becomes. The village monk and elders don’t dare to ask the armed groups to repair. They’re afraid of being shot. Three or four bridges are broken on Htee Phoe San- Naung Ta Pwe section. So, you can imagine how badly the road to Na Bu, Daw Lan and Htilon must be damaged. There are about 30 checkpoints of armed groups. So, This makes it difficult for villagers to travel by car or motorcycle,” said the local.
The illegal goods such as food, machinery, vehicles, construction materials, electronics, phones and accessories and Japanese second-hand goods are smuggled into Hpa-An through the BGF gates at the Thai-Myanmar border and by bypassing Myawaddy Trade Zone, Koe Taing X-Ray checkpoint, Gyaing Bridge, Indus and Hpa-An checkpoints.
From there, the goods are further transported to Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and Taunggyi through illegal routes, a truck driver described the situation in illegal border trade.
“The trucks first pass through the BGF gates and then take the old Dawna Hills route until they reach Pha-An via Kawkareik. They have to pay tolls at the checkpoints of the Burmese military, BGF, KNU/KNLA-PC and many other groups at the top of each village along the road. The trucks come with with goods such as rice, chili, onions, and other goods from Yangon, which they transport via the Asian Road and sell in the border area. Then they in turn bring goods from Thailand through the village roads all the way to Pha-An,” the local told the KIC.
Drivers used to make more money from their trips, but currently their business is not as profitable due to damage to their vehicles and rising tolls, a trucker said.
The area where the Burmese military, BGF and local ceasefire signatories such as KNU / KNLA-PC groups are collecting tolls is part of the area controlled by the 7th Brigade of the KNU. Locals say they have reported the current damage to roads and bridges and are facing difficulties as the KNU has not yet coordinated with the relevant armed groups in the area.
Sent by KIC.
