August 13, 2026
Along the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border trade route, the military junta has restricted and banned the legal import of Thai consumer products. Consequently, traders and truck drivers report that cross-border trade is now surviving entirely through illegal crossings along the Thaungyin (Moei) River and illicit smuggling routes deep inside Myanmar.
The military-controlled Friendship Bridge No. 2 only permits Myanmar’s exports (such as beans, corn, and onions) and the import of Thai construction materials. Informed traders state that Thai food products, consumer goods, and household medicines must be smuggled across the river through illegal gates controlled by Karen ceasefire armed groups, including the BGF, KNA, DKBA, and Peace Council (PC).
“Bridge No. 2 doesn’t accept duty payments for Thai consumer goods. Only construction materials like iron, zinc, and cement can be legally imported,” a trader explained. “Cosmetics, medicines, industrial raw materials, and spare machine parts must be smuggled through illegal gates. Then, drivers bypass military checkpoints, using secret routes to transport goods to Hpa-An and Mawlamyine, before forwarding them to Yangon and Mandalay.”
Evading military checkpoints means shipments can take months to reach their destinations. A truck driver revealed that rather than making high profits, they are just trying to cover travel costs by paying heavy bribes to Karen armed groups for protection and passage.
“In the past, we could clone documents to smuggle extra goods alongside legal imports. Now, since no duty is allowed at all, everything is 100% smuggled,” a driver said. “We have to monitor the route carefully and transport step by step. If caught, we pay our way out. Traders and drivers take huge risks just to get the goods through.”
Currently in Myawaddy, illegal gates and warehouses owned by Karen armed groups with good relations with the junta operate smoothly. However, businesses aligned with gates that have poor relations with the junta face frequent arrests and crackdowns.
Because of this shift to an entirely illicit economy, the junta government is losing massive amounts of official tax revenue.
However, sources close to the administration report that corrupt junta officials, from top-ranking commanders down to low-level staff, are making millions of Kyats daily through massive bribes extorted from these illegal traders.