Anti-smuggling teams abolished: Commerce ministry
The government’s mobile task force teams, which aimed to clamp down on the country’s thriving illegal border trade, have been abolished, the Ministry of Commerce announced on 30 December.
“All teams will stop, starting from today,” Than Win, the director of the Ministry of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The directive was signed by Commerce Minister Win Myint on 30 December.
Since late 2012, the cross-departmental teams, including representatives of the commerce ministry, customs and police, have worked to intercept illegal overland trade, primarily in Shan State’s Muse on the border with China and in Myawaddy, Karen State, on the Thai-Burma border.
