Excerpts from the Article titled “Drug Economy Network of the AA Terrorist Group and the Perils of Terrorist Attacks (Part-II)”

The excerpts from the article by Aung Shinn, titled “Drug Economy Network of the AA Terrorist Group and the Perils of Terrorist Attacks (Part-II),” which clearly shows that the drug trafficking activities of the terrorist group AA are connected to their acts of terrorism.

• Due to the increased arrests along these routes, the AA group is connecting with NUG/PDF groups and trafficking illicit drugs that are produced from Shan State (North) and Kachin State to Rakhine State in 2025 through PDF-operated areas in Sagaing Region and Chin State.
• The Yinmarbin District PDF group, under the NUG, are trafficking drugs for funds because the NUG does not provide support enough to PDF terrorist groups.
• The dead bodies of AA members confiscated by the Tatmadaw during battles in the Rakhine State and other evidence indicate that AA leaders administer narcotics to their subordinates to endure the hardships of battle.
• In terms of the AA group’s drug economy network, AA members themselves transport, distribute, and sell narcotics at home and abroad. The group tasks individuals as in charges in the insurgent-controlled areas and assign the business duty as well as supply duty to the Rakhine people masquerading as civilians in the areas where risks of arrest are high.
• The AA terrorist group conducts drug-trafficking not only in Myanmar but also to Western countries and the Middle East via Bangladesh and Malaysia.
• The AA group not only smuggles its own narcotics but also provides safe passage for the narcotics of other armed groups through its areas, in return for tax collection.
• According to the 2021 report of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) in Bangladesh, psychotropic tablets were trafficked into Bangladesh via villages and towns controlled by the AA in the Rakhine State. The seizures reveal the involvement of AA members themselves in drug-trafficking.
• The AA group's drug economy network is connected both domestically and internationally. Revenue from narcotics has strengthened their arsenal of weapons and ammunition. As continuous battles occur, they are increasingly engaging in drug trafficking to replenish diminished arms and ammunition.
• Drug-trafficking causes more lawless acts of terrorism. The AA group is increasingly pursuing drug trafficking as their primary business to carry out more armed terrorist acts.
• To ensure its survival, the AA group has indoctrinated its members with narrow-minded racial views through Rakhine racism. The AA troops have been brutally committing racially and religiously motivated violent attacks against other ethnic groups and tribes within Rakhine State.
• Approximately 600 Bengali people, including children and women, were brutally murdered in Htan Shauk Khan village, Buthidaung Township, in May 2024, and such incident indicated the AA group's inhumane acts of terrorism.
• The AA group has not only forcibly recruited Bengali people, but also Chin and Mro people living in Maungdaw and Paletwa townships, and has also been committed bullying and killings.
• The State Administration Council government has given special priority to drug prevention and suppression, and has eradicated and combated it with its own resources without international assistance.
• It is unfortunate to see and hear that some foreign governments and anti-narcotics organizations turn a blind eye in drug-dealings and acts of terrorism by armed drug lord AA group and NUG-affiliated PDFs and their acts of terrorism against innocent civilians.
• This is a call for action to international anti-narcotics organizations that it is required to combat armed narco-gangs like the AA terrorists group under the name of ethnic armed group.

      Detailedarticles and topics on AA terrorist group’s drug trafficking can be accessed and read from state own newspapers and the Infosheet website at https://infosheet.org/.