Wei Xuegang, wanted in Thailand and the US on drug charges, has decided to give up his newly constructed maximum security mansion west of the Wa capital Panghsang on the Sino-Burma border, according to local sources.

The Ұ 300 million ($ 60 million) complex, complete with underground tunnels and bunkers, was instead “donated” to the Wa supreme command, said an informed source, rejecting rumors that it was purchased by Bao Youxiang, supreme leader Bao Youxiang’s younger brother and “finance minister”.

Unconfirmed report says the complex will be inaugurated on 8 August (the 8th month), as 6 and 8 are auspicious numbers to Sinicized-Wa.

The obsessively security conscious Wei, deputy head of finance and Commander of the Thai-Burma border-based 171st Military Region, was said to have been upset by the much unwelcome media attention given to the palatial mansion he had been building at Wankawng, some 4 km west of Panghsang since 2005.

He is said to be still living in Pangpoi, a village further south and has contracted a Thai-based constructor to build a new house in Mongmai, 170 km north of Panghsang near the Kokang border.

According to Bangkok Post, 6 July 2008 issue, his companion at Pangpoi is none other than Surachai Ngernthongfu aka Bang Ron, also on the top wanted list in Thailand.

Wei, born in 1946, The Year of The Dog, in Xuangjiang, Yunnan province, fled with his family to Burma’s Shan State when he was 11. He joined Khun Sa in 1964, became his radio operator and later his banker. Falling out with Khun Sa, he joined the United Wa State Army. He was sentenced to death in absentia by a Thai court in 1993. The United States also has an “up to $ 2 million” offer for information leading to his arrest since 1998.