THAILAND ARRESTS DRUG SUSPECT SOUGHT BY U.S.

BANGKOK, Thailand--Thai police said Wednesday that they have arrested
a suspected drug trafficker sought by the U.S. government, which
charges that he was the accountant for what used to be the world's
largest heroin smuggling syndicate.

Yang Wan-Hsuan, for whom the U.S. government has offered a $2-million
reward, was arrested Tuesday night in Chiang Mai, 360 miles north of
Bangkok, the capital, Thai narcotics police told a news conference.

Police Gen. Pornsak Durongphibul told reporters that Yang is wanted in
Thailand for illegally entering the country and on suspicion of
smuggling in heroin and amphetamines. He will be handed over to the
U.S. only after the Thai investigations are over, Pornsak said.

Yang was indicted in 1994 in a New York federal court for attempted
conspiracy to import heroin into the U.S. and distribution of heroin.
According to the State Department, he was the accountant for the
heroin smuggling syndicate known as the Shan United Army. The State
Department said his nationality is Chinese.

Yang's arrest was part of a joint Thai-U.S. operation launched in 1994
that targets top members of the syndicate.