evidence: Three Pagodas Pass at the Thailand Myanmar border in northern Kanchanaburi has been an active crossing point between the two countries for many years, and despite COVID-19 restrictions and recent closure measures it is has been increasingly used by transnational crime groups to traffic illicit contraband and people in 2020. Recent record synthetic and other drug seizures (methamphetamine, ketamine and some heroin) at the police / military inspection check-point in Sangkhla Buri on the road south from Three Pagodas Pass have confirmed a shift of trafficking routes from Mae Sai - Tachilek in the Golden Triangle and Mae Sot - Myawaddy in central Thailand towards this very complex, and in some respects over-looked, Thailand Myanmar border area. The Three Pagodas Pass links communities in Sangkhla Buri in north Kanchanaburi Thailand to the town of Payathonsu in the south of Kayin State and nearby Mon State in Myanmar, connecting very different societies, cultures and economic systems, with a unique mix of disparities and border challenges. Official border trade has been strained by COVID-19 in 2020, but it has continued at reasonable levels when allowed, and there are indications some informal trade and trafficking has been taking place even during COVID-19 restrictions. This reality is a clear challenge for efficient and effective border management, and has been proven to be an opportunity for organized crime involved in trafficking of drugs, people, timber and wildlife.