"The United Wa State Army (UWSA) on Saturday handed two women accused of human trafficking to police officers from Pegu Division who traveled to Lashio, northern Shan State, to take them into custody, according to local sources. Nyi Rang, a spokesperson for the UWSA based in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the armed group arrested the two female human trafficking suspects as requested by Myanmar police. “For us, our only duty was to arrest them,” said Nyi Rang, who referred requests for further details about the trafficking allegation to the Myanmar police. The UWSA controls the Wa Self-Administered Division in northern Shan State. Nyi Rang said reports of human trafficking are not uncommon in the region. Myanmar police first asked the UWSA liaison office in Lashio to arrest the two women, who were wanted for alleged involvement in human trafficking and were staying in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa region. “We asked our police in Panghsang to arrest them,” said Nyi Rang, who posted a photo of UWSA troops handing over the two detainees to Myanmar police in Lashio on July 20. Myanmar police sent letters to the UWSA on July 2 describing the women’s alleged trafficking of a woman from Taungoo District in Pegu Division..."