TRENDS IN SMUGGLING ALONG THE BURMA-CHINA BORDER FROM 1950 TO 1953

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001800490003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2001
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: July 29, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/02/23: CIA-RDP80-0081OA001800490003-5
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SECRET
SECURITY INFORMAT;ON
COUNTRY Burma/China
PLACE ACQUIRED
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
Trends in Smuggling Along the Burma-China DATE DISTR.
Border From 1950 to 1953
29 July 1953
NO. OF PAGES 3
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1. The intensity and scope of smuggling aotivities,since early 1950 in areas along the
Burma-China border have varied in accordance with local conditions of unrest,-
fluc-tuation in demand, products exchanged, and the tenor of official restriction.
195o
2. At the time the Chinese Communists occupieddYunnan in the first quarter of 1950,
there were practically no restrictions of any kind and smuggling across the border
was, to a great extent, unhindered. At Wanting, traders could come and go at
will wj.thout official sanction from either side. There was a great demand for
trucks-, tires', gasoline, engine oil, grease, and vehicle spare parts'from Burma.
For the entire year 1950s it is estimated that approximately 1400 trucks, 6,000 tires,
10,000 drums of gasoline (44 gallons to a drum), ,000 drums of engine oil and grease
were smuggled into China. Also, there were about l9,000 one-gallon tins of engine
oil smuggled across and a large quantity of brake ftiiid. As for vehicle spare parts,
the principal items in demand during 1950 were main springs, bearings, gaskets, plugs,
and joints. Spare parts to the value of kyats 500,000 were sold to the Chinese
during that year. The larger shipments of smuggled goods were paid for by the
Chinese Communists in gold, while the smaller ones were paid for in Burmese currency
notes.
3. During this same period, products in demand from the China side of the border included
eggs, vermicelli, silk yarn, chinaware, hams, and rice. These items were purchased
with Burmese currency notes.
4. The comparatively easy flaw of smuggled goods in and out of Burma was made possible
largely through bribery of the officials concerned. To get a truck through Kyuhkok
gate, the bribe price varied from kyats 500 to bats 5,000. These fiflds were shared
by the.customs officials, Union Military Police, and the intelligtence officer. Later,
smuggling through Kyuhkok became more difficult, and trucks were ferried across the
Shweli River to Mengmao (N 24-02, E 92-52).-
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5. On the Burma side, those primarily engaged in the smuggling business werl neutral
Chinese, Shans, Burmans, and Indians who were motivated solely by money.
1951
6. There was a noticeable decline in illicit trade in 1951. Much of this was caused
by a reshuffle of border officials by the Government of Burma and the imposition
of harsher penalties for bribe-taking. The smuggling of trucks and spare parts
was nearly halted and the demand from the China side shifted to. kerosene and salt.
In spite of restrictions, approximately 20,000 to 25,000 four-gallon tins of
kerosene and abiut2,,000 tons of salt were smuggled to China. There was very little
smuggling 'traffic from the China side into Burma,
1952
7. In 1952, the demand from China cen.ered almost exclusively on rubber plants of
approximately 18 inches in height. A million and a half of these plants, obtained in
the Twante (N 16...L3, E 95-56), Moulmein, Mudon (N 16-159 E 97-44)., and Shwegyin areas,
were transported to Muse and Namhkam. Chinese Communist agents on the border rejected
5009000 of them as unhealthy. Although such plants sold in Burma for kyats 5 to
kyats 15 per thousand,, the Chinese offered as high as kyats 25 per 100 plants.
8. In both 1951 and 1952, the Chinese Communists attempted to buy zinc, lead, tin., and
wolfram ores left behind by the Japanese in the Shweli Valley area. The Shan-Kachin
Company, Ltd. was also engaged in acquiring these ores at the same time and a price
war ensued which doubled, and in the case of wolfram tripled.,the values of the ores.
The Shan-Kachit Company Ltd. managed to obtain nearly 200 tons of these ores which
were shipped to Rangoon for export to Holland and England.
1953
9. At the present time, the principal products being smuggled into China from Burma are
raw cotton, cotton yarn, and poplin cloth; silk yarn and Chinese art sill" are in
demand from China. Traffic in these commodities has been under way on a large scale
for some time. In thm last'four or five months., Chinese art silk valued at kyats
300,000 to 400,000 has been smuggled into Burma.5 The Chinese have recently signified
a renewed interest in trucks, but to date there have been no vehicles smuggled across
the border.
10. In early 1953, the Chinese Communists also professed interest in obtaining nickel and
copper fro the people of the~Shweli Valley. Nickel formerly sold for kyats 2.8 or
3 per vies in Burma, but the Chinese Communists are now offering kyats 30 per viss.
In 1951-19529 copper sold in Burma for kyats 100 per viss. The Chinese Communists
are now willing to pay kyats 180 per viss.
11. The Chinese Communists are also now eager to buy scrap iron and steel. Shans in the
Shweli Valley are taking advantage of this situation by salvaging iron and steel
from abandoned United States vehicles which were left behind in World War II. Old
truck engine blocks are the main source of this material. To date, approximately
160 tons of this scrap metal have been bought by the Chinese Communists.
12. Medicines are also in demand by the Chinese at the present time. Those chiefly
desired are American drugs such as penicillin, chloromycetin, and streptomycin. The
smuggling of medicines into China affords a profit of~almost 100 per cent.
13. The Chinese Communists have recently set up an exchange control at Wanting. Indivi-
duals desiring to purchase goods from China must now exchange their Burmese currency
for Chinese money at specified rates before any goods can be bought. There is rigid
enforcement of this new procedure.
1. I Jomment. In 1950, a Dodge truck could be purchased in Burma for kyats
,30 to ,000. At Wanting., this value doubled., and by the time the truck reached
Kunming, it was worth approximately kyats 209000.
Comment. The term 91truck" as used above is believed to refer to used
ryv -vehicles left behind by the Allies during World War II.
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25X1
-3-
2. IICoinnient. In the first two months of 1950, one Maung SEIN,aka Edward SEIN,
a urma-born Chinese operating. motor supply shops in Muse and'Kyuhkok, made a
pro~itjof kyats 30,000 from the smuggling of engine oil, gasoline, and motor
spare parts. 25X1
25X1 31
month. Nurses from Dr. Seagrave!b hospital at Namhkam state that these traders
carry, handwritten notes from Dr.-BA Si who was formerly with Dr. Seagrave: before
he Joined NAW SENG's insurgents.
At the present time, certain traders from the China side of the
order-cross over to Namhkam seeking various medicines on an averageof once a
Comment. This information was reported by the same source
aced, October 19,92, Commodity trends in the Wanting-Muse area were reported by
another source hich was dated mid-October 1952.
IComment. It is not known what the source means by the term "Chinese
art ,e He may be referring to Chinese articifical silk, which is listed in
the Ohtneae custoft manual.
5. L-LiComment. In some cases, the Chinese Communists turn over kyats 10,000
worth o art s k to certain Shan agents in Burma, requiring on-the-spot payment
of kyats 5,000 and the balance to be paid when the material is sold. Only Shans
are dealt with, because the Chinese Communists have no faith in the Indians or
Burma Chinese.
6. Comment. A visa is a Burmese measure which used to be equivalent to
pours and is now officially equal t o 3.60 pounds.
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