Wei Hsueh-kang is an infamous drug kingpin

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...

 currently operating as the Southern Commander of the United Wa State Army

United Wa State Army

The United Wa State Army is an ethnic minority army of an estimated 30,000 Wa soldiers of Myanmar's Special Region No. 2 led by Bao Youxiang . There is no recognised Wa State in Myanmar, which is divided into divisions, states, and special regions...

.

Insurgent leader

Originally a member of Khun Sa

Khun Sa

Khun Sa , also known as Chang Chi-fu was a Burmese warlord. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium trading in the so-called Golden Triangle. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army.- Biography :Khun Sa was born to a...

’s Mong Tai Army

Mong Tai Army

The Mong Tai Army is a former ressistance force of the Shan minority in Burma, founded by Khun Sa. It had up to 20 000 armed members and was one of the forces opposing the central government...

 (MTA), he was one of the original founders of the UWSA in 1989 following the factional division of the old Communist Party of Burma

Communist Party of Burma

The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...

 (CPB).

Narcotics trafficker

Wei was believed to be closely associated with the notorious drug baron Khun Sa during the height of opium production in the Golden Triangle

Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)

The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent and Pakistan, it has been one of the most...

, and remains wanted by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

__FORCETOC__The Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a part of the Department of State within the United States government that advises the President, Secretary of State, other bureaux within the Department of State, and other departments and agencies within the U.S...

 for drug offences committed within the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, which is offering a $2 million reward for information leading to his capture. He is currently believed to be in Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

, probably within UWSA controlled territory of Wa State

Wa State

Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...

.

Although Wei was granted Thai

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

 in 1985, three years later in 1988, he was facing a sentence of life imprisonment by the Thai Government. He jumped bail however, and his Thai nationality was later revoked in 2001.

Recent reports suggest that Wei has downsized his involvement in drug trafficking, partly in response to his ‘wanted’ status by the US. However, his continued affiliation with the
UWSA brings unique experience and expertise in drug production and trafficking, and reinforces doubts about the extent of their commitment to stamping out the trade.

Entrepreneur

Wei Hsueh-kang founded the Hong Pang Group in 1998 with revenues from the drug trade after taking advantage of the privileges offered in the cease-fire deal by Gen Khin Nyunt

Khin Nyunt

General Khin Nyunt is an officer and politician in Myanmar. Khin Nyunt is of Burmese Chinese descent. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. He is married to Khin Win Shwe, a medical doctor, and father to a daughter, Thin Le Le...

. Its position in the country's economy, not just the Wa State, is reflected by a multitude of businesses it owns and controls in construction, agriculture, gems and minerals, petroleum, electronics and communications, distilleries and department stores. Hong Pang Group is based at Panghsang with offices also in Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, Mandalay

Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....

, Lashio

Lashio

Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...

, Tachilek and Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine is the fourth largest city of Burma , situated 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin river...

.

A fire in Panghsang

Panghsang

Pangkham , formerly known as Pangsang, Panghsang before 1999, ia a town in far eastern Shan State of Myanmar . It is situated on River Nam Hka near the border with Yunnan Province, China. It is the de facto capital of Wa State, officially designated as Special Region No. 2, while Hopang is its...

 on 18 April, 2009, destroyed the largest petrol station and over 10,000 tons of teak in a warehouse, both belonging to Wei Hsueh-kang.

External links

• WEI Hsueh Kang, United Wa State Army, Financial Network US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control
  Office of Foreign Assets Control
  The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
  
  , November 2008
• The Wa Nation TIME
  Time
  Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
  
   Asia, December 16, 2002
• Burma's Drug Kings TIME
  Time
  Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
  
  Asia, December 16, 2002