Many of the country's gems, especially jade and rubies, come from the contested areas in Kachin State.
Mr Leacock served in an American unit filming behind Japanese lines with Kachin marauders (he was decorated for bravery).
Last month a crate was discovered in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, but muddy water stopped an immediate identification of its contents.
It has told our correspondent that it wants the Burmese military to scale back its operations throughout Kachin state and not just around Laiza.
Both Shan and Kachin states border China, Burma's biggest economic ally.
Because, for example, not only Kachins live in the Kachin state.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Interview: Foreign Minister Win Aung - Page 1
Earlier, Burma's new parliament approved a motion calling for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the 18 months of fighting between the military and Kachin rebels.
Top UN humanitarian official Valerie Amos has called for urgent access to some 40, 000 people in northern Burma who have been displaced by fighting between troops and Kachin rebels.
Separately, Myanmar authorities and ethnic Kachin rebels agreed on a cease-fire they hope will lead to a broader peace agreement and quell the Southeast Asian country's last armed ethnic conflict.
In international news, China yesterday helped facilitate an agreement between Burmese and ethnic Kachin rebel leaders in southwest Yunnan to continue holding talks following weeks of heavy fighting, Xinhua reports.
Government officials in Myanmar (Burma) said that they had held peace talks with ethnic-Kachin rebels and that China had helped mediate the meeting, which took place across the border in southern China.
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