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SHAN STATE – The junta checkpoints in southern Shan State are extorting the cars transporting corn and fertiliser, reported the drivers.
One driver shared that the extortion on the trucks transporting corn and fertilizer in Lawksawk (Yaksauk), Inle and Pinlaung has gotten worse.
“All the checkpoints demand cash. If you don’t pay, you are not allowed to pass the checkpoint and would be needlessly questioned. Before, we had to pay 500 Kyats for a bag of fertilizer, now we have to pay 1,000 Kyats per bag. Since one truck carries up to three or four hundred bags, we have to pay 300,000 to 400,000 Kyats at each checkpoint. We have to pay around three million Kyats to the checkpoints in just one trip. They claim it’s for security reasons but they just want money. Even when transporting rice, we have to pay when travelling in Pekhon area as rice is restricted there,” explained the driver.
It is said that the toll gate at Loikaw as well as Naungtaya and Bilu Chaung Bridge checkpoints have the PNO militants led by junta officers extorting money, using safety as an excuse.
Similarly the checkpoints around Inle in Nyaungshwe Township and the checkpoints in Pinlaung also conduct harsh checks on passing travelers and demand around 700,000 Kyats from trucks transporting corn while trucks transporting other goods also have to pay depending on the goods.
At Mhawbi and Pawngpai gates, even cars going around selling goods would be blocked and asked to pay for passage saying that the gate would be only opened at 6 a.m.
As it is common for large tractors and unregistered cars to transport goods on the routes in those regions, the junta checkpoints can use multiple excuses to extort the drivers.