Bootlegged alcohol seized from soldiers in Lungler

18 September 2013: Over 100 bottles of OP (overproof) alcohol, which has been banned by communities, were seized from soldiers from Burma Army based in Hakha, Chin State.

The soldier named Phyo Maung and his friend Maung Myo bootlegged the ‘banned’ alcohol from Hakha and were caught redhanded in Lungler village, Thantlang township last July.

They said, according to the Hakha Post, the alcohol was not theirs but belonged to Kyaw Zin Oo, of Tactical Operations Commands of Burma Army based on Mount Rung of Hakha.

When asked about their smuggling of ‘banned’ items, they said Kyaw Zin Oo told them that OP alcohol could be freely sold in villages, but not in towns.

The two men were fined 300,000 Kyats for bootlegging according to a decision by a Lungler community-based committee entrusted with the task of tackling alcohol-related issues.

Recently, a public event took place in Hakha where more than 2,000 bottles of overproof rum were emptied in protest against selling and drinking of OP alcohol, nicknamed ‘killer of a nation’.#