Traffickers: Inside The Golden Triangle

There was a Burmese man who was once considered the number one opium kingpin in the world. His name was Khun Sa. In the world of drugs, no one could beat Khun Sa in his time. Not even Escobar. Myanmar, Thailand, and the United States tried to capture him without any problems. The United States even formed special teams to capture Khun Sa. But they failed. He died of an illness while in remission until 2007.

“Khun Sa and the Opium Industry”
Khun Sa was the most famous opium kingpin in the Golden Triangle, a region known for opium production between Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Because his opium was 95% pure, the entire American opium market was addicted to his opium. Because of Khun Sa, the Golden Triangle was the largest opium producing area in the world at that time. So, the United States, because of the huge opium problem in its country, began to try to capture Khun Sa, the source of the problem.

“Khun Sa and Shan State”
Khun Sa is not wrong to say that he is a leader of the ethnic armed resistance movement. They say that he is a person who is fighting against the Burmese army for Shan State. The Shan people respect him and have him on display in museums. They also say that Khun Sa is a patriotic hero for the Shan people. There are people who say that if his storm army had not collapsed, Shan State would not be so complicated. They talk about what his backers are, and it is quite confusing. People also have different opinions about him. However, despite his bad reputation, there are those who believe that he is a good person for Shan State. He even declared himself the president of Shan State.

“Khun Sa and Escobar”
“Khun Sa is likened to the Pablo Escobar of Southeast Asia. Hearing this, Khun Sa laughed. This guy has about 40,000 people like me and does not have an army with anti-aircraft guns. He does not have his own city. The main thing is that this guy is not as smart as me.”

Both of these are true. Why, just read what Khun Sa said about his place.

” Hydroelectricity and electricity. There is a hospital and a school. It has its own golf course. We think it is in the jungle. The world thinks that Ho-Mein is the Hong Kong of Burma. There is a world-class tourism industry. The golf tournament held by Khun Sa is more famous than the golf tournament of the SPDC. Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and America come to play. World-famous singers come. British royalty, ladies, and even lords come. If Escobar heard this news, he would have died. Khun Sa became the Lord of the Golden Triangle. “

The cleverness is also true. Escobar died on the street as a fugitive, but Khun Sa surrendered to the Burmese government because he knew that Escobar would turn and his turn would come, and because there was a mutiny within the army. He continued to do business peacefully until his death in 2007.

“Khun Sa’s Personality and Cruelty”
From what I’ve read, Khun Sa is not wrong to say that he was a smart man. The United States has even considered him a mastermind. He was a good person with good relations with the administration and his disciples. If you want to know more, just type in Khun Sa’s name and you can find the news that was posted in the past. Khun Sa is said to have had four wives and had a charm that could make girls fall for him, and he was also a good person. The reporter in this documentary says that he has interviewed many presidents, princes, and prime ministers, but he has never seen anyone as influential as Khun Sa. Don’t think that this means he is not cruel. Khun Sa is indeed very cruel. The documentary says that if you get in his way, you will die.

“He blew up the Chiang Mai mansion of his rival, General Lee of the Kuomintang, with a car loaded with 2 tons of TNT, and the 40-room mansion was destroyed. Hundreds of people dug holes and threw stones. People were fed to dogs. Their throats were pierced. Their tongues were pulled out of the holes and they played with their tongues. If Escobar heard these things, he would be so scared.”

“The United States and Khun Sa”

The United States has offered a $2 million bounty on Khun Sa and has tried to capture Khun Sa. They have designated Khun Sa as their public enemy number one. Even the Don Mafia is not as bad as Khun Sa. They have also tried to capture him with an operation called Operation Tiger Trap. Khun Sa has mocked the US government by saying that if they buy all the heroin from him, the market will stop. Only a Burmese can beat Kan. He is considered a criminal mastermind.

The US has requested that Khun Sa be handed over to the Burmese government, but it has not been granted. They were also unhappy that Khun Sa was staying calm. They were happy that drug production had decreased after Khun Sa was gone. For a while.

“The Burmese Army and Khun Sa”
The Burmese government used to refer to Khun Sa in the newspapers before the light came, but after the light came, they changed it to U Khun Sa. If others went to Ye Kyi Lake, it would be like going to hell, but Khun Sa went to Nirvana to be protected.

“The situation when Khun Sa contacted him to surrender completely, former military intelligence officer General Khin Nyunt said in his interview book that he was half-believing. After five rounds of discussions between the two sides, when Khun Sa surrendered, the Tatmadaw entered the area with 30 battalions. The intelligence officers were not allowed to attend the surrender ceremony, and General Khin Nyunt also confessed in his book that he was treated like a gentleman.” According to a report in the Irrawaddy News Agency,

Indeed, it is true. According to the photo records, Khun Sa who surrendered was welcomed like a gentleman.

“Don’t be like the drummers
They make a sound like a drum
They move like a clock all the time
They must make a sound whenever necessary… “
~ Khun Sa

” Khun Sa’s Death “
The Khun Sa Museum is located in the village of Ban Thot Thai on the Thai border, where Khun Sa’s former camp was located. Before he died, Khun Sa, who wanted to erase his history as the opium king, lived under the protection of the military government until he died on October 28, 2007. He did business until his death and said that when he died, he would not be sent to Shan State. It is said that there may not be enough butterflies for Shan State. He was buried in the North Okkalapa River Cemetery. Khun Sa wanted to erase his history as the opium king, but his picture was also hung in the Burmese Drug Museum.

“Documentary”
Part one of this documentary is about the most notorious and famous person of a certain era. A documentary that recounts the difficulties of capturing the drug lord from the American perspective, and interviews a Shan national and a former Burmese military intelligence officer, San Pwint. True to the name, the Golden Triangle is a three-part documentary that follows the three most notorious drug lords in the Golden Triangle, each in turn.

References – Wikipedia, The Irrawaddy, The Golden Triangle’s Prince of Peace, Khun Sa, The Six Tigers and Khun Sa, Tracking the Opium King.

Complete Series: There are 3 episodes..

Traffickers: Inside The Golden Triangle [2021] Complete Series

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