Seized cattle, motorboats sold at auction in Maungdaw

By Cha Lu Aung 29 Apr 2020

Cha Lu Aung | DMG
29 April, Maungdaw

The Maungdaw District General Administration Department this week auctioned off 167 cows and three motorboats that were seized from illegal trade to Bangladesh through Maungdaw Township in northern Arakan State.

The department fetched K62.25 million (US$43,000) from the auction on April 27, District Administrator U Soe Aung said.

“The money will be contributed to the state government fund. It will be spent on building roads and bridges in the state,” U Soe Aung said.

Having been seized in February by security forces under the Danyawaddy Regional Command, the cattle and motorboats were subsequently confiscated as civil asset forfeitures by Maungdaw district- and township-level courts.

Six people involved in illegal trading were sentenced to one-year imprisonment and K10,000 fines in early April by the Maungdaw District Court under Section 5 of the Important Goods and Services Law.

The trial is ongoing in a separate, related case before the Maungdaw Township Court in which eight Sittwe residents were arrested on February 27.

Myanmar has allowed the legal trade of cattle across international borders since late 2017, but illicit trading of livestock to Bangladesh via Arakan State is still considered a problem.