Lu Htet Naing, 20th March 2025

On March 19, the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) released a statement denying the junta's assertion that the recently confiscated drugs are associated with the Arakan Army (AA), labeling the allegation as "entirely unfounded and a political smear." 

The statement further noted that the junta, accountable for war crimes, is encountering military defeat against the AA and is undergoing humiliation both within the country and on the international stage, including from neighboring nations. Consequently, the junta is consumed by resentment and is unleashing political assaults on the AA out of fury.

In its propaganda broadcasts, newspapers, and news journals on March 19, the junta claimed that the AA was trying to smuggle drugs valued at 96 billion kyats into Malaysian waters, supposedly arranged by an AA economic official.

Although the junta's media has linked the AA to this drug trafficking, the ULA/AA stressed that it has no involvement in the issue. 

The ULA/AA statement also characterized the junta's claims as driven by political motives, consistent with a prolonged tactic of disseminating misinformation and targeting resistance groups employed by successive military governments during their tenure. 

"The global community is aware that such offenses, like drug smuggling, internet fraud, and gambling, are happening exclusively in Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Mandalay, which are under the control of the terrorist military regime," the statement from ULA/AA added. "Thus, the junta generals are the ones implicated, and there is clear evidence connecting them to these actions." 

On March 19, the media controlled by the junta claimed that the drugs caught on March 6, 2025, were intended to be smuggled into Malaysian waters by an AA economic official. 

The junta identified the people involved as Ye Win (also known as Kyaw Soe Lin) and his spouse, Ma Thida Myint, who owns the Shwe Kaung Thar motorboat. 

The junta stated that the pair managed bus terminals in Tanintharyi, Taunggyi, Mandalay, and Yangon, and operated a transportation company with 16 passenger vehicles. They have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. 

The news article indicated that actions had been taken against the couple, but it also highlighted, under their image, that they had not been arrested yet. 

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