Locals in Karen State’s Myawaddy Township—a major border trade hub with Thailand—have dismissed the junta’s claim that it demolished dozens of illegal border trade gates and warehouses along the Moei River separating Myanmar and Thailand. They say border trade continues as usual through the illicit crossings, which are controlled by pro-junta armed groups.
The regime announced it began demolishing illegal gates and related structures at the end of October, after regaining control of the area from resistance groups.
The regime has been cracking down on smuggled goods for months in an effort to reclaim profits from ethnic armed groups and anti-regime groups that have long controlled sections of the Karen trade route.
The regime said it targeted border gates on the Moei River where armed groups collect taxes on imported goods, claiming to have dismantled more than a dozen gates along with their warehouses and jetties.
However, locals report that trucks, containers, and ferries are still passing through the gates—some of them handling hundreds of vehicles daily between Myawaddy and Mae Sot.
“I passed through Gate 999 on Monday and nothing was demolished—it was bustling as usual,” a local told The Irrawaddy. “I happened to arrive at Gate 44 a few days ago and saw around 500 vehicles parked there. Vehicles and people were crossing as usual.”
Photos released by the regime show only small wooden and brick structures being torn down, while locals said that the main gates—large, fortified facilities equipped with generators and operating around the clock—remain untouched.
“They demolished small warehouses and idle gates, but not the major crossings that operate on a commercial scale,” said a Myawaddy resident close to local armed groups.
Junta officials in Myawaddy said that around 30 illegal trade gates operate along the Moei River, while locals report at least 50 gates, manned by the junta-aligned Karen State Border Guard Force, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), and Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council. All three armed groups have agreed to provide security for the junta’s planned December-January election.
Locals said thousands of cargo trucks, pedestrians and motorbikes are crossing the river daily through those gates.
Myanmar’s military rulers have long lamented the loss of state tax revenue through the informal crossings.
