YANGON. July 6: Myanmar's gene/als vowed that if they caught him they would hang him. But more than six months after the opium warlord surrendered to Myanmar's army the question • remains: Where is Khun Sa? reports AP.

He's wanted in a US court on 10 counts of heroin and narcotics trafficking, and he hasn't ' been seen since Myanmar's military government took him into custody and disbandea more than 10,000 of his troops in January. .

But international narcotics agents say his signature neighbourhoods product — cheap and potent heroin — is flooding from America to Australia at record levels.

When the generals arrested 262 followers of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in late May. they draw a barrage of international condemnation. The political turmoil'also shifted the spotlight away from questions about Khun Sa — 'whether the junta plans to make good on its promise to punish him and why huge quantities of drugs still flow from Myanmar.

A slight 61-year-old man with a penchant for military fatigues. Khun Sa may not have been J seen recently, but his name is heard often | around Yangon. Rumors fly about his where-

abouts. doings and dealings.

The United States has offered dlrs 2 million for Khun Sa’s capture and has asked Myanmar to extradite him to face drug trafficking charges. Myanmar has refused, saying he will Tie dealt with under Burmese law.

Technically. Khun Sa has been defeated. But he’s more of a phantom now than he was as a criminal at large, when he reigned over the isolated jungles of Shan State and occasionally.gave interviews to reporters who made the arduous eight-hour mule ride from' the Thal border to his headquarters in Homong.

Khun Sa claims his rebel army was fighting for the autonomy of his Shan ethnic minority. American officials say he was one of the biggest drug traffickers In the Golden Triangle, a mountainous jungle Where the borders of Burma. Thailand and Laos meet. Abput Sf) per cent of

the heroin in the United States comes from the region.

Myanmar's general insist that Khun Sa. whose real name is Chiang Chifu. is in a military security camp in Yangon being debriefed. There are many military camps and compounds in tlfr capital, however, which makes it difficult to pin down his whereabouts.

One diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Khun Sa is in a military compound, living with the generals. Some people speculate he's in the sarrie heavily guarded com-Bjund as Gen. Ne Win. the strongman who ruled urma for 26 years until stepping down in 1988. Ne Win, 85. has not been seen in public for years.

Some reports say Khun Sa suffered a heart attack and is near death from diabetes Still others say they've seem him dining at local

restaurants, and he has golfed with the generals.

To be fair to Myanmar's generals, they face a dilemma in dealing with Khun Sa. How can they achieve peace and reconciliation with warring rebels while not tailing them for the opium trafficking that funded their fight?

Those, sympathetic to the regime say the Enerals are doing the right thing with Khun Sa. it look like hypocrites because of previous pledges never to deal with him.-

Critics accuse the generals, who are desperate for foreign exchange to fund their military buildup, of laundering Khun Sa's drug money

Military officials have denied this charge, but they've granted amnesty to other major drug traffickers, such as Lo Hsing Han. and helped them convert their black fortune into legal businesses. A company belonging to Lo a son is building a hotel and port in Yangon

Rangoon residents say Khun Sa has his own bus line linking Myanmar with Thailand and China, the two principal routes for heroin leav ing the country. They say he has gem mines clothing shops, restaurants and a share tn a five star hotel near Suu Kyi s home.