gems and minerals, and imports consumer goods, electronics, machinery and processed food. Muse's '105th mile Trade Zone', a border zone of 150 hectares, opened in April 2006, the first and largest border trade camp of its kind in Burma, handling as much as 70% of cross border trade with China. A trade fair has been held annually every December since 2001 alternating between the two border towns each year with India, Bangladesh and Thailand as well as China taking part. In 2007 the local militia, under orders of the military authorities, seized of land in the area, mainly tea and orange plantations as well as small farms, with little or no compensation, in a drive to cultivate physic nuts for biodiesel as an alternative fuel. On 8 May 2008, the military seized 20 truck loads of biscuits and other goods at Muse allegedly for the relief of Cyclone Nargis victims. A joint enterprise between Burma and China to construct oil and gas pipelines from the Bay of Bengal via Mandalay through Muse to Kunming in Yunnan Province starts operations in 2009. Narcotics Recently China built a 4 km long fence on the border near Ruili in order to stop drug trafficking and two more are under construction. Drug addiction is a major problem in the area. The opium poppy harvest had increased since Lo Hsing Han managed to rebuild his drug empire after becoming the intermediary for cease-fire agreements between the military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt and the Kokang and Wa insurgents who had rebelled against and toppled the Communist leadership in 1989. The World Food Program carried out emergency food assistance to former poppy farmers in 2004-2005 as pressure mounted to stop cultivation of the poppy. Gambling, drugs and prostitution flourished in Ruili, but Muse's own efforts to share in the Las Vegas style business atmosphere met with much less success. The Chinese authorities cracked down on heroin entering - but not the chemical ingredients for the amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) called yaba leaving - and also on Chinese men enjoying the same pleasures on the Burmese side of the border. Besides the UNODC, a number of groups and organisations such as the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN) and Buddhist monks are also involved in the amelioration of the HIV/AIDS problem among drug users. Notes External links Muse, bridge over Shweli, and Ruili WikiMapia Kyegaung checkpoint, Myanmar-China border at Muse-Ruili