Justice For Myanmar issued a statement on 23 March drawing links between a motor recovered from an Iranian-manufactured drone and the Synpex Shwe company which it has previously documented as supplying key military hardware to the Myanmar military, particularly its Air Force.
A report released by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) identifies a supply chain linking Myanmar arms broker Synpex Shwe (SS) to a motor recovered from an Iranian-manufactured Sayyad-107 drone after an attack near the Iraq–Syria border. The motor had been part of a larger shipment from Japan to a Hong Kong-based distributor in July 2020. Synpex Shwe’s Singapore subsidiary, Synpex Shwe Pte. Ltd. (also called Synergy Tripexin Pte. Ltd), was listed as the ordering customer. This was one of five shipments of over 300 motors between July 2020 and July 2023.
As exposed by Justice For Myanmar in 2022, Synpex Shwe is a supplier for the Myanmar military’s defence industries and has procured helicopter parts for the Myanmar Air Force from the Russian company Sins Avia Trading House LLC (CNS Aviation) following the military’s illegal coup attempt.
Shipment records seen by Justice For Myanmar also confirm that, in April 2021, Synpex Shwe imported self-contained propeller control systems through Turkey, likely for use with small aircraft such as drones. Since the coup attempt, the Myanmar junta has increasingly made use of drones for surveillance, targeting reconnaissance and bombardments of civilians.
Synpex Shwe has also imported spare parts for radios and aircraft from the Russian company Allwe Foreign Trade Company JSC, including for Mi-17 helicopters, according to Russian export records on file with Justice For Myanmar and reporting by the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. Justice For Myanmar found at least 27 shipments from Allwe to Synpex Shwe in Myanmar in 2022 and 2023. The Mi-17 has been used in the junta’s indiscriminate airstrikes against civilians.
In 2023, Synpex Shwe Co. Ltd. was sanctioned by the UK and Canada, and the following year, the USA imposed trade restrictions on the company. However, Synpex Shwe directors, shareholders and associated companies in its network are yet to be sanctioned in any jurisdiction. As of April 2022, Synpex Shwe Co. Ltd.’s owners were Aye Nyein Swe, Lu Lu Chan Myae (also known as Kaung Htet Lu Aye), Myat Hnin Phyu, San Myint Aung, Si Thar Htain Win, Win Lai Phyu and Yan Lin Naing. After it was exposed, Synpex Shwe renamed its Myanmar company twice, first to SS Techniques Co. Ltd. and then to the current name, SS Tech Learn Co. Ltd, in an apparent attempt to evade sanctions. Its Singapore company, Synergy Tripexin Pte. Ltd., was shut down in 2024.
Also in the Synpex Shwe network is Kaung Luu Co. Ltd, a registered supplier of the Myanmar military’s directorate of procurement which has multiple overlapping directors with SS Tech Learn, and SS Affluence Co. Ltd., a Thai company established in 2022 that also has an overlapping director with SS Tech Learn. The UN Special Rapporteur has noted that SS Affluence continued to facilitate the procurement of arms for the Myanmar military after Synpex Shwe was sanctioned.
Trade data on file with Justice For Myanmar shows that in 2023, SS Affluence in Thailand imported aircraft spare parts from TDM Trading & Investment JSC in Vietnam and DC speed control system trainer kits from Vinytics Peripherals Private Limited in India.
While Justice For Myanmar has welcomed sanctions on Synpex Shwe Co. Ltd., we call for measures to be extended beyond the one Myanmar company to cover Synpex Shwe’s whole network, their owners and directors, including the Thai company SS Affluence. The Thai government must block Myanmar arms brokers from doing business in their territory.
Given credible reporting that Mi-17 helicopters and drones are being used by the junta in its commission of international crimes, Synpex Shwe’s procurement of components for these aircraft may amount to the aiding and abetting of those crimes and this needs to be criminally investigated.
As the illegal junta continues its campaign of terror with total impunity, it is crucial that governments act to block its access to funds, arms, equipment and aviation fuel, including through targeted sanctions against the Synpex Shwe network.
