People’s Radio Myanmar (PRM)
July 6, 2026
MYAWADDY, MYANMAR — In the Thai-Myanmar border town of Myawaddy, local officials appointed by the military are making a lot of money illegally. Every night, they arrest young and middle-aged men. Then, they force the families to pay huge amounts of money to stop the men from being sent to the army.
During June and July, these officials have been actively forcing people into the military. The arrested men are kept in small jails behind the local ward offices. To get them out, families have to pay between 10 million and 13 million Myanmar Kyat. If they cannot pay, the men are sent straight to military training camps and war zones.
“The Ward 4 leader, Si Hlaing, and his armed groups hunt for men every single night,” a family member of a kidnapped man told People’s Radio Myanmar (PRM). “They lock them up behind the office and make the families pay to free them. If no one brings the money, the men are sent to the Hpa-An military base. Before, they would let someone go for 4 or 5 million Kyat. Now, it costs up to 13 million. These local leaders are making billions of Kyat from this.”
In other parts of the city, the demands are different. Leaders in Wards 3 and 5 are refusing to take Myanmar money altogether.
“The Ward 3 leader, Shwe Tin, and the former Ward 5 leader, Nga Saing, demand 30,000 to 50,000 Thai Baht per person,” a local resident explained. “If families do not have Baht, they must give gold necklaces and bracelets to get their sons back. Nga Saing was recently removed from his position, but Shwe Tin is still there. The sad part is that they are kidnapping the children of the very people who voted for them.”
These night arrests mostly target migrant workers who moved to Myawaddy from other towns to find jobs. The leaders and armed groups use routine “guest registration checks” as an excuse to enter workers’ rooms, cheap housing, and poor neighborhoods outside the city to arrest people.
PRM also learned that some lower-ranking members of Karen armed groups, who have ceasefire agreements with the military, are helping the local officials catch these men.
The military’s news channels claim they have full control and peace in Myawaddy, but the truth on the ground is very different. Real security in the city is controlled by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF). While the BGF focuses on regional projects, the military’s local leaders are left free to run this massive kidnapping and money-making business.
