Myanmar sees growth in contraband goods seizures in 2022

22 January 2023
Myanmar sees growth in contraband goods seizures in 2022
Myawaddy area in southeastern Myanmar's Kayin State bordering Thailand. Photo: Wikipedia

Myanmar Vice-Senior General Soe Win said the Myanmar authorities managed to seize more contraband goods over the last year, than the year before, all told a 56 billion kyat value increase.

Soe Win made the claims at the Anti-illegal Trade Leading Committee meeting held in Naypyidaw on 18 January.

He said at this meeting that there were 2,240 such cases during the one-year period from January to December 2021 and the estimated value of these contraband goods was 8.4 billion kyat.

However, in 2022 they had 4,232 cases with an estimated value of 65.0 billion kyats so this was 1,992 more cases and 56.5 billion kyat more in value, according the Myanmar authority figures.

Soe Win is chairman of the committee.

He said previously arrests typically happened on trader routes and inspection stations, but now they had broadened their searches, raiding warehouses and buildings following tip-offs, hence the significant rise in value in confiscated goods.

The junta media has published warnings to departmental officials not to get involved in illegal trade and corruption.

The daily papers of Military Council’s mouthpieces reported that they warned the departmental officials not to get involved in these illegal trades and corruption cases.

Soe Win said that they found entry of trucks carrying illegal imported goods from the Myawady Friendship Bridge on Thai-Myanmar border was not on the decline.

After the new import policy of showing export earnings or other remittances first was adopted, the applications for import licenses significantly dropped at Myawady border trade station in December 2022, according to a report.