The business community on the border SHAN has interviewed confirmed that most of the drugs seized in Thailand originate from the Burmese Army controlled militia groups and not Wa as reported by several news agencies.

“The Wa are not out of the game yet, not by a long shot,” said a young trader on the Tachilek-Maesai border. “But as the political winds are changing, so is the drug trade. The Wa used to be number one. Now the militias are number one.”

The United Wa  State Army (UWSA) and several other ceasefire groups have since 2008 increasingly been under pressure to come into the fold of the Burmese Army. The UWSA and five other groups say they will not give up their arms until their autonomy demands are met.

“Since then, the militia’s stars have been on the rise,” agreed another businessman. “The ceasefire groups’ trucks are searched, but the militias’ are not. The result is even the ceasefire groups have to turn to the militias for the safe transit of their drug consignments.”

One businessman earlier told SHAN that Thai entrepreneurs had been trying to take advantage of the situation by investing with the militias. “They are the ones who bring in precursors like caffeine and pseudo ephedrine you have been hearing about,” he said. “They, unlike the Wa, like to churn out the pills first and look for the customers later.”

The Wa, he says, “never make pills without order.” They also are choosy with their customers: either they must pay cash on delivery or they must be long standing loyal customers.

But why do most smugglers say they were carrying “Wa goods” and not others’? “It’s to discourage rival groups from trying to hijack the goods,” one businessman replied. “If you say you are carrying Wa goods, no one will dare touch you. Also when you are caught on the Thai side and the media ask you where it comes from, the answer “Wa” will shut them up.”

Most of the junta backed militia groups are said to be involved in drug production and trade. The most well-known is the group from Punako, Mongtoom tract, Monghsat Township, opposite Chiangrai’s Mae Fa Luang district. The Burmese Army’s Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) 553 and 554 are stationed near their village.

Yet despite their stars rising, their products are still low-quality compared to the Wa’s. “But just give them sufficient time,” said the source, “I think the number one chemists from the Wa will be moving over to the militias.”