A crackdown on unlicensed vehicles by the military junta has intensified in Karen and the Mon States, resulting in the suspension of emergency patient transport services, according to humanitarian rescue team officials.
Following Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s directive during a high-level meeting in Naypyidaw on May 20 to take strict action against unlicensed vehicles, authorities have begun conducting aggressive raids, often reaching into residential neighbourhoods. These operations have reportedly included the seizure of emergency medical transport vehicles.
On June 1, the crackdown escalated with checkpoints set up on major roads and along inner streets, making it difficult for emergency vehicles without proper licenses to operate. A rescue team official in Hpa-an Township stated that only licensed ambulances are currently permitted to function.
“All our teams in Hpa-an have temporarily suspended operations. Some teams with licensed vehicles are still running, but they’re having to coordinate transfers using a single vehicle, picking up patients from rural areas and transferring them mid-route. It’s only a temporary arrangement while we negotiate how to continue operations safely,” the official explained.
At around 2 p.m. on June 1, an emergency ambulance was reportedly seized at a checkpoint near Hpa-an town’s entry point. The rescue team is appealing to authorities for the vehicle’s release.
Those who had their vehicles confiscated report that, depending on the model, particularly motorbikes, authorities have been demanding up to MMK 6 million (approx. USD 2,850) to return the vehicles.
In Mon State, most emergency transport vehicles are also unlicensed, raising concerns among rescue workers that ongoing seizures will prevent them from continuing their humanitarian missions.
“Many of our teams are afraid to continue operating. Most have stopped. There hasn’t yet been an Emergency Coordination (EC) meeting to decide what’s next. If authorities clearly outlined how enforcement would work, it would help. But the current situation isn’t right—when emergency routes are blocked like this, it’s the public who suffers,” said a member of a local rescue team in Mon State.
Penalties for driving without a vehicle license, having unclear or missing number plates, or operating without a driver’s license range from MMK 30,000 to MMK 300,000 in fines and up to three months in prison, according to a source close to a township administrator in Mon State.
The junta’s law enforcement units—traffic police, military-affiliated militias, and military family members—are increasingly utilising seized unlicensed vehicles for their purposes, sources report.
Additionally, there has been growing criticism over the junta’s facilitation of vehicle imports. Unlicensed motorbikes are allegedly being brought in from Thailand via the Mae Sot–Myawaddy border with the consent of military and police officers, who are collecting unofficial fees at the checkpoints.
