November 1994

OPERATION TIGER TRAP

Operation Tiger Trap was a multi-agency international operation designed to disrupt the trafficking activities of the world's largest heroin trafficking organization, the Shan United Army (SUA). Also known as the Mong Tai Army, this group was located primarily in the areas of Burma adjacent to the northern border provinces of Thailand, with heroin "sales representatives" living in northern Thailand. The SUA Warlord Khun Sa claimed that his army, which was financed primarily by heroin trafficking, was fighting the Burmese for the independence of the Shan people.

Tiger Trap was divided into phases that targeted key SUA functions. On November 27, 1994, based on U.S. indictments, teams of Royal Thai Police, Office of Narcotics Control Board Officers, and Royal Thai Army Special Forces Soldiers working with DEA special agents arrested those residing in Thailand. These arrests significantly affected the ability of the SUA to distribute heroin. The Royal Thai Army then worked with the Thai Border Patrol Police to close the Burma border to "commercial quantities" of goods entering the Shan State. This significantly affected the ability of Khun Sa to supply the SUA, and resulted over time in massive defections. Khun Sa ultimately surrendered to Burmese authorities.

Eventually, 13 senior SUA traffickers were arrested, and all were pursued for extradition/expulsion to the United States. These 13 principal defendants in Operation Tiger Trap included some of the most persistent and highest-level heroin traffickers operating out of Thailand. They were all subjects of U.S. indictments in the Eastern District of New York. Operation Tiger Trap crippled the SUA by not only disrupting its command and control network, but also by depleting its financial resources. This successful operation led to a significant reduction in the amount of Southeast Asian heroin distributed in the United States.