After taking control of Lwegel on the Chinese border in Momauk Township, Kachin State, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and its allies seized over 5,000 million kyats (US$2.3 million) and gold bars from Infantry Battalion 142 headquarters in the town, according to KIA sources.
On Monday 62 junta troops and regime personnel fled to China after the town had been surrounded by the KIA.
A KIA source said the kyats and gold were in a warehouse inside the base.
“It is from the border trade tax and also probably from the regime’s banks. The regime officers must have thought the base was the safest place,” he said.
After junta troops fled to China on Monday, the KIA and its allies seized the base without gunfire. It was the last remaining regime stronghold in the town.

Lwegel is one of Myanmar’s five border towns with China with an estimated $119 million in trade passing through the town in the 2023-24 financial year.
The KIA and its allies have seized 10 battalion headquarters and more than 60 outposts in Kachin State since launching offensives along the Bhamo-Myitkyina road on March 7.
Positions have been seized in Momauk, Waingmaw, Mansi, Sumprabum and Tanai townships to the north of Bhamo.
The KIA has also encircled the jade-mining hub of Hpakant Township.