In the current war in Rakhine, Myanmar’s junta is using water transport for soldiers, military supplies, and weapons. The naval community alleges that these warships are also involved in drug trafficking.
According to reports, drugs are transported directly from Yangon and mainly transferred in the Bay of Bengal, which is part of Rakhine State. Additionally, when these ships arrive in Maungdaw, further transfers reportedly occur.
Furthermore, upon returning to Yangon from Rakhine, these ships allegedly transport people from Maungdaw back to Yangon. Members of the navy community claim that senior junta officials have amassed billions of dollars through these activities.
Since the fighting erupted in Rakhine, drug trafficking has escalated. Even junior colonels within the junta have grown immensely wealthy. According to a naval officer stationed at the naval base in Sittwe Township, captains can amass hundreds of thousands of dollars.
These drug traffickers transport millions of dollars worth of drugs, and tens of thousands of people have been brought to Yangon in return. Members of the Myanmar Junta Navy allege that these activities are permitted under the command of certain military leaders involved in the coup.
Furthermore, Myanmar Junta officers are accused of smuggling drugs from Rakhine into Bangladesh, with naval sources claiming these officers profit from tens of thousands of dollars.
“As senior junta navy officers were interrogated, it was revealed that envy among fellow junta members who do not favor that senior officer has escalated due to greed over profits from smuggling,” a naval officer at the Naval Headquarters in Kyaukphru told the Border News Agency.
The Operation-1027, involving the three brotherhood alliance including the Arakan Army (AA), culminated in the AA’s resurgence war in the Arakan region on November 13 last year, marking the final battle of the Rakhine war.
Since the onset of the resurgent war, the Myanmar junta has relied solely on navy landing crafts and warships for transportation, as road usage became impractical. Military operations are predominantly conducted via waterways.
In the final stages of the Rakhine War, the Arakan Army (AA) has targeted and destroyed Myanmar junta’s landing crafts, ships, and even special forces units. The AA continues to attack and occupy areas until the junta’s presence in Rakhine is dismantled. It is reported that senior junta naval officers are fleeing as a result.
After the coup, there have been changes at the top of the Junta Navy’s leadership. According to sources within the navy, Chief of Defense (Navy) Lt. Gen. Zway Win Myint was recently removed from his position.
(Photo: The junta while loading drugs along with weapons at Maungdaw Township’s Ka Nyin Chaung Economi