https://www.gnlm.com.mm/undeniable-facts-of-drug-smugglings-by-so-called-arakan-army/#article-title
This is a classic case of follow the money. In 2023, Burma/Myanmar is the largest opium producer in the world. The opium goes into heroine. The classic Asian "Golden Triangle" has also added methamphetamine manufacturing to its product line. And where in Myanmar? In the area claimed by the "Northern Alliance". This is the group making the much boasted claims about military successes against the national Myanmar military that Western "democracies" hate. China is also attempting to shut down cyber crime (main business activity) cities in the area on the Chinese border.
Remember that $220 million dollars in the Burma Act of the US NDAA military funding? It was contemplated to go largely to the National Unity Government (NUG). NUG, posing as a legitimate government, is partnering with the Northern Alliance.
The referenced article is about the Arakan Army. It's hard to call them Arakan anymore, since they've largely moved from the Arakan area in the southwest, up to the Golden Triangle in the northeast, to be with their buddies in the drug land of the Northern Alliance. They are the point of the spear of the NUG military alliance.
Who needs Mexican and Chinese fentanytl, when you can get the opium and meth being funded by the US Government, as it attempts to turn Burma/Myanmar into a narco state? Does anyone in the US Government think before they act?