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Wa Army denies Thai allegations





February 25, 1999 
DRUG FUGITIVE
Wa Army denies Thai allegations
They have 'never heard' of Bang Ron

Nusara Thaitawat and Subin Khuenkaew
Wa Southern Command, Shan State

The United Wa State Army has denied Thai allegations that it is protecting
Surachai "Bang Ron" Ngernthongfu, the drug fugitive.

Ta Kap, deputy commander of the 894th Brigade, based in Maung Yawn, opposite
Mai Ai district, Chiang Mai, said: "I've never heard of him.
"I'm surprised to hear that Thai authorities believe this man is hiding with
us," he said. "They're welcome to contact us, give us a picture and we'll help
track him down."

So far, said Ta Kap, no one had asked for cooperation and none of the pictures
given to Rangoon by Gen Chettha Thanajaro, former army chief and now
adviser to
the interior minister, had reached the UWSA.

"With hundreds of Thai workers in Maung Yawn and thousands in the southern
command, we couldn't hide him without someone knowing," he said.

Ta Kap, responsible for the brigade's military affairs and finance, said
400-500 Thais worked in Maung Yawn and up to 6,000 in the southern command
which covers areas from the border at Mae Ai to Mong Hsat.
These workers are involved in the UWSA's infrastructure development projects,
which are estimated to be worth at least one billion baht.

The projects include a dam, roads, electricity and water supplies, and
fortress-houses for brigade leaders.

Ta Kap's denial was dismissed by Thai anti-drug officials and the army
responsible for the border in Mae Ai. They insist Bang Ron has been with them
since his escape last October.

Pol Lt-Gen Komkrich Patpongpanich, commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression
Bureau, said: "He's with them for sure, not in Maung Yawn because it's too
close to the border, he's more on the Shan-Chinese border."

However, Pol Lt-Gen Komkrich admitted his latest intelligence report on Bang
Ron was two months old and he could not confirm whether he was still alive.
While the UWSA had helped Bang Ron because of their links in the amphetamine
trade, he could not see what the UWSA stood to gain from giving him refuge in
the long term.


Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, the national police chief, also believes Bang Ron is
still active in the drug trade. Information derived from a drug raid on Monday
confirmed Bang Ron was still in business, he said.

Ratchada Watanapradit, who had been charged in the raid in Rayong in which
102,000 pills were seized, admitted she had been in daily contact with the
fugitive.

Posing as customers, police lured Apisit Watanapradit, 22, Manit Watanapradit,
26, Nipat Prasitbun, 25, and Karaket Yodkhae, 29, into selling them 4,000
pills. On seeing the drugs, police made arrests.
Later, more than 50 policemen with three dogs searched Mr Apisit's house on a
300-rai farm in Pluak Daeng district and found 98,000 more pills.

Interrogation led to the arrest of Mrs Ratchada, the elder sister of Mr Apisit
and Mr Manit. Both men claimed the pills belonged to their sister who is
married to Banjerd Thirawet, an arrested drug suspect who owns the farm and is
allegedly an associate of Bang Ron.

Bang Ron's importance in the amphetamine trade was a big question mark among
anti-drug officials until last October when 758,000 tablets were seized in his
house in Nong Chok, eastern Bangkok.
One suspect was killed and three arrested in the operation.


Annual Report
© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 1999
Last Modified: Thu, Feb 25, 1999
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