Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and China have Launched their Fifth Mekong River Patrol

The joint patrol ran from Guanlei Port located in Xishuangbanna prefecture in southwest China’s Yunnan Province to the Golden Triangle

 

Chiangrai Times – Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and China have launched their fifth joint Mekong River patrol on Monday. The Patrols are in an effort to discourage bandits and drug runners from operating in the Golden Triangle region.

The joint patrol ran from Guanlei Port located in Xishuangbanna  in southwest China’s Yunnan Province to the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos share boarders on the Mighty Mekong. The patrols started in December 2011 after the brutal killing of 9 Chinese sailors in Chang Sean ChiangRai.

Mekong River Patrol Boat with Armed Police

Under the framework of the “Law Enforcement Cooperation along the Mekong River Mechanism,” the four countries have created new channels for intelligence exchanges, patrolling and law enforcement, as well as channels for tackling incidents that disrupt public order, combating transnational crimes and dealing with emergency events.

In May, a Myanmar National, Naw Kham, a drug lord suspected of masterminding the attack on the Chinese sailors, was arrested in Laos and sent to Beijing for trial.

Naw Kham, the head of an armed drug gang believed to be associated with the bandits who killed the Chinese sailors on Oct. 5 last year, was arrested on April 25 at an undisclosed location in Laos and was then extradited to China for investigation and a court trial on May 10.

Chinese police said a joint police investigation in China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand found evidence that Naw Kham, some core members of the gang and a small number of Thai soldiers planned and conducted the murders. – Anna Wong-CRT