Myanmar

Myanmar Police Force

 The Myanmar Police Force (MPF) was created in 1995 and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs.  The Force has a strength of more than 93,000 men and women, with its headquarters located in the administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw.   Myanmar is divided into seven states and seven regions, each with its own local police force. 

MPF mandate:

• Prevent, detect and investigate crime;
• Enforce and maintain law and order;
• Suppress criminal activity related to narcotic drugs;
• Preserve community peace and tranquility;
• Carry out community welfare activities;
• Ensure public security.

MPF structure:

• Headquarters;
• Seven state police forces;
• Seven regional police forces;
• Special forces;
• Training centres;
• Reserved units;
• Police battalions.

MPF Special Forces:

• Criminal Investigation;
• Special Intelligence (Special Branch);
• Railways Police;
• City Development Police.

Drugs Task Forces

The largest of Myanmar’s administrative divisions, Shan State, covers almost a quarter of the total area of the country, bordering with China, Laos, Thailand, and five other administrative divisions. This huge expanse of Myanmar territory is rooted in the heart of the “Golden Triangle” of opium production.  To tackle the criminal activity this can generate, the Myanmar police force created a Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control which is made up of 26 drugs task forces.   Through the principles of law enforcement, supply elimination and demand reduction, each squad has the specific mission of preventing, suppressing and combating the trafficking and consumption of drugs throughout Myanmar.  Regular drug destruction ceremonies are held where large quantities of seized drugs are publicly burned.

INTERPOL Nay Pyi Taw

Staffed by about 15 people, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) for Myanmar is housed at the Myanmar police headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw.

INTERPOL Nay Pyi Taw concentrates its activities on fighting:

• Drug trafficking;
• Trafficking in human beings;
• Money laundering;
• Terrorism.

NCB objectives:

• Communicate regularly with the INTERPOL community in law enforcement matters and to assist in international investigations requiring input from Myanmar police authorities;
• Work with partner NCBs in tracing, investigating and prosecuting transnational crime; 
• Analyse crime and identify emerging trends which pose a threat to peace and security;
• Assist in the capacity building of the Myanmar Police Force.