Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10RANGOON103
2010-02-24 10:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rangoon
Cable title:
BURMA: ATTACK ON POLICE PATROL IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE
how-toVZCZCXRO1911 OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH DE RUEHGO #0103 0551055 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 241055Z FEB 10 FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9873 INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3161 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2507 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2448 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 5364 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2302 RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1955 RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2450 RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000103
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, INL/AAE
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV PINR KCRM LA BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: ATTACK ON POLICE PATROL IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE
BORDER AREA
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Brian Andrews for Reasons 1.4
(b) & (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000103
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, INL/AAE
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV PINR KCRM LA BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: ATTACK ON POLICE PATROL IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE
BORDER AREA
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Brian Andrews for Reasons 1.4
(b) & (d).
1. (SBU) A variety of Burmese exile and Thai media outlets
reported February 22 that Burmese police were attacked on
February 20 while on boat patrol on the Mekong River along
the Burma-Thailand-Laos border.
2. (C) Post's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Attache
confirmed that on February 20 a joint patrol consisting of
seven officers from the Wan Pone police station in Shan
state, three officers from Wan Pone Anti-Narcotics Task
Force, two soldiers from the people's militia (local militia
under the Army's control) and three boat drivers (15 persons
total) embarked on a patrol in three boats along the Mekong
River bordering Laos. At 12:00, an armed group attacked the
patrol, leaving 10 dead, two injured, and three missing. The
two injured officers, Police Second Lt. Sein Hlaing and
Police Private Ki Bu, are recovering at a Rangoon hospital.
Both are expected to survive, although one remains in
intensive care. The GOB believes fugitive drug trafficker
Sai Naw Kham's group is responsible for the attack. (Note:
Our DEA Attache believes this is a likely explanation, and
that the attack was probably a retaliation for an earlier
Burmese police drug bust in Tachilek. End note.) Burmese
authorities believe the attackers escaped the scene of the
shooting in boats and fled into Laos.
3. (C) According to a statement from Police Second Lt. Sein
Hlaing, his patrol observed suspicious activities on an
island in the Mekong and when they disembarked to
investigate, some of the suspects fled. The patrol teams
searched the island and encountered about 30 attackers who
fired on the patrol. (Note: Press accounts stated the
attackers used 40 mm grenade launchers and small arms to
attack the patrol. End note.) Laos authorities have been
cooperating with the GOB Border Committee to search the Laos
side of the border, where the two survivors and three corpses
were found.
DINGER
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, INL/AAE
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV PINR KCRM LA BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: ATTACK ON POLICE PATROL IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE
BORDER AREA
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Brian Andrews for Reasons 1.4
(b) & (d).
1. (SBU) A variety of Burmese exile and Thai media outlets
reported February 22 that Burmese police were attacked on
February 20 while on boat patrol on the Mekong River along
the Burma-Thailand-Laos border.
2. (C) Post's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Attache
confirmed that on February 20 a joint patrol consisting of
seven officers from the Wan Pone police station in Shan
state, three officers from Wan Pone Anti-Narcotics Task
Force, two soldiers from the people's militia (local militia
under the Army's control) and three boat drivers (15 persons
total) embarked on a patrol in three boats along the Mekong
River bordering Laos. At 12:00, an armed group attacked the
patrol, leaving 10 dead, two injured, and three missing. The
two injured officers, Police Second Lt. Sein Hlaing and
Police Private Ki Bu, are recovering at a Rangoon hospital.
Both are expected to survive, although one remains in
intensive care. The GOB believes fugitive drug trafficker
Sai Naw Kham's group is responsible for the attack. (Note:
Our DEA Attache believes this is a likely explanation, and
that the attack was probably a retaliation for an earlier
Burmese police drug bust in Tachilek. End note.) Burmese
authorities believe the attackers escaped the scene of the
shooting in boats and fled into Laos.
3. (C) According to a statement from Police Second Lt. Sein
Hlaing, his patrol observed suspicious activities on an
island in the Mekong and when they disembarked to
investigate, some of the suspects fled. The patrol teams
searched the island and encountered about 30 attackers who
fired on the patrol. (Note: Press accounts stated the
attackers used 40 mm grenade launchers and small arms to
attack the patrol. End note.) Laos authorities have been
cooperating with the GOB Border Committee to search the Laos
side of the border, where the two survivors and three corpses
were found.
DINGER