Five Arrested After Tatmadaw Search Homes In Muse Township
By Network Media Group
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Five people were arrested on Sunday night after Tatmadaw soldiers, accompanied by government officials and village headmen, searched homes in Mang Mai, located in Muse township, in northern Shan State.
A local, who spoke with NMG on condition of anonymity, said soldiers conducted a surprise search at night. The source said that one person was arrested at 4 a.m. and another was picked up at 9 a.m., but didn’t say anything about the other three that were arrested.
“Police haven’t opened a case against the detainees yet,” the source told NMG, explaining they’re still at the station.
A family member of one of the people that were arrested told NMG that five people from Mang Mai were taken to the Muse Myoma police station.
NMG contacted the station for comment but wasn’t able to reach anyone.
“Police told us that they were searching for illicit drugs and weapons,” said a local from Mang Mai, who also didn’t want their name used. The resident couldn’t say who was arrested or why, but heard two of the detainees are Kachin and two are Shan and Bamar. They weren’t aware of the ethnicity of the fifth person that has been detained.
The Burma Army’s website reported a Chinese-made Paryi rifle, 3 M22 rifles, a Beretta pistol, a Luger pistol, and magazines and ammunition for the firearms were recovered during the search.
Mang Mai has about 70 houses. It’s located about 1.5 km from Swam Sor ward in Muse town, where this week authorities also found weapons, as well as illicit drugs. In Swam Sor, police seized methamphetamine tablets with a street value of 600 million kyat (US$427,125) and five grenades.
In Kutkhai township, located about 100 km south of Muse town, police seized almost 200 million methamphetamine tablets and over 500 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. They also confiscated 35.5 metric tons and 163,000 thousand litres of precursor chemicals from the township. Thirty-three suspects were arrested during the operation that lasted three-months.
