Win Htut Win, a notorious gangster from Thaketa Township in Yangon, has transformed into an armed Pyu Saw Htee militia member for the military and is now actively involved in forcibly recruiting young people for military service, according to families of youth who have been conscripted from Thaketa Township. Following the death of another Thaketa gangster Nay Myint Aung in February 2023, Win Htut Win began consolidating more gangsters in the Thaketa area and started gathering intelligence on revolutionary activists for the military and police forces.
After the Military Service Law was enacted on February 10, 2024, Win Htut Win fully embraced his role as a military enforcer and became an armed Pyu Saw Htee member. He has been generating substantial income in Thaketa through extortion and protection money as a military-backed militia member. The proceeds from these activities are being laundered through various businesses registered under his followers’ names, including clothing stores, restaurants, and auto parts shops. His group attempts to maintain a charitable facade by posting videos of them paying respects to elderly gangsters.
Currently, Win Htut Win’s followers are committing numerous abuses in Thaketa’s Khine Shwe War 8 South Ward, including slapping and beating civilians, extorting money, and even attempting to coerce young women into sexual relationships with their leader through monetary incentives. Civilians are too afraid to file complaints, and even when they do, the police take no action. People fear retaliation from the gangsters more than they trust in law enforcement protection.
Win Htut Win appeared in Original Gangster 3, a film by military supporter Yone Lay, where he was portrayed as a gang leader. He now requires even elderly people to pay tens of thousands of kyat to show respect to him, and everyone who speaks with him must do so with clasped hands in submission. Protected by military and police forces, he operates with complete impunity while carrying a short firearm, presenting a particular danger to young people in the area. Through Yone Lay’s connections, he has become deeply involved in recruiting new soldiers for the military, checking guest registrations, gathering intelligence on revolutionary forces, and cultivating informant networks.
In 2018, Win Htut Win and his followers attacked a family in Tamwe Township, resulting in the death of 30-year-old Ko Zaw Hein and seriously injuring at least two other family members. Although he was imprisoned for this crime, he was released under the military’s amnesty after the 2021 coup. He has since become fully dedicated to serving the military’s interests through forced recruitment, surveillance of civilians, gathering intelligence on resistance members, and establishing networks of informants. His transformation from a local gangster to a military-backed militia member exemplifies how the military regime co-opts criminal elements to enforce its rule and oppress civilians.
