MYANMAR Bangkok. They found luxury goods belonging to the Burmese junta in an anti-drug operation

Documents have been found proving that Min Aung Hlaing’s two sons own apartments and bank accounts. Thai authorities were investigating Tun Min Latt, a businessman friend of the general. Thailand has never condemned the coup and has so far not seized assets related to the Burmese army.

Bangkok ( / Agencies) – The Thai authorities found property belonging to the two sons of General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Burmese coup junta, during a search at the home of a Burmese businessman suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Tun Min Latt, 53, runs hotels, mines and other businesses related to the energy sector. He was arrested in Bangkok in September last year along with three Thai nationals and is currently in custody. He has long been considered a close associate of the Burmese military and – according to various sources – has provided it with military supplies using his company Star Sapphire. He has imported Israeli-made drones and other components for attack aircraft. The Star Sapphire Group is also a partner of two regime-controlled companies, Myanmar Economic Holdings and Myanmar Economic Corporation.

The Burmese army (also known as the Tatmadaw) overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021 sparking a civil conflict that shows no sign of ending and a violent crackdown by the army against the civilian population.

The documents found by the police at the home of Tun Min Latt, at Belle Grand Rama 9, in the Thai capital, attest that the sons of the coup general, Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, own a luxury apartment ( worth nearly a million dollars) and two bank accounts at Siam Commercial Bank. Both, along with their father, were subjected to US and Canadian sanctions following the coup, but according to people familiar with the case, they will not face any legal action as Thai authorities do not consider them relevant to the investigation against Tun. Min Lat. During the September raid, assets (cars, watches and more than $200,000 in cash) worth $8.96 million were seized. Khin Thiri Thet Mon’s bank account was closed, but it could not be determined who did it or when.

A Justice for Myanmar spokesperson who had access to the raid records urged the Thai government to take “urgent measures to prevent the country from becoming a haven for Myanmar war criminals by preventing the illegitimate Burmese junta and its members accessing Thai banks and properties and freezing their assets, which belong to the people of Myanmar.”

Thailand shares a land border of more than 2,000 kilometers with Myanmar, but has so far never openly condemned the military coup, instead continuing to invite junta representatives to regional summits. General Min Aung Hlaing has good personal relations with the Thai head of government, Prayut Chan-ocha, another former army general who rose to power after a coup and is now seeking re-election in the upcoming May elections.