The Red Wa is the most powerful organized crime gang in Thailand. The Red Wa come from
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and they are associated with the
United Wa State Army
The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
. They are composed of people from the
Wa ethnic group and they work together with Chinese organized criminals in the drug trade. The Red Wa control the
methamphetamine trade in Thailand and neighboring countries and are also known for being involved in the trafficking and sale of other drugs, mainly heroin. Although they primarily focus on
drug trafficking, groups associated with the
United Wa State Army
The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
have also been involved in other crimes in order to protect their territory.
[http://www.intelasia.net/burma-is-key-to-ending-regional-drug-trafficking-233353]
References
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Transnational organized crime
Organized crime groups in Myanmar
Organised crime groups in Thailand