Khun Sa
Encyclopedia
Khun Sa also known as Chang Chi-fu was a Burmese warlord
. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai
. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium
trading in the so-called Golden Triangle
. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army
.
father and a Shan mother. He adopted the pseudonym Khun Sa, meaning "Prince Prosperous". In his youth he trained with the Kuomintang
, which had fled into the border regions of Burma from Yunnan
upon its defeat in the Chinese Civil War
, and eventually went to form his own army of a few hundred men. In 1963 he re-formed it into a Ka Kwe Ye local militia
loyal to Gen Ne Win
's Burmese government. Ka Kwe Ye received money, uniforms and weapons in return for fighting the Shan rebels
.
When Khun Sa had expanded his army to 800 men, he stopped cooperating with the Burmese government, took control of large area in Shan
and Wa
states and expanded into opium production. In 1967 he clashed with the Kuomintang remnants in Shan State, which resulted in his defeat, demoralizing him and his forces. In 1969, the Rangoon
government captured him. He was freed in 1973 when his second-in-command abducted two Russia
n doctors and demanded his release. By 1976 he had returned to opium smuggling, and set up a base inside northern Thailand
in the village of Ban Hin Taek
. He renamed his group the Shan United Army and began ostensibly fighting for Shan autonomy against the Burmese government.
In October 1981 a 39-man unit of Thai Rangers
and Burmese guerrillas attempted to assassinate Khun Sa at the insistence of the US Drug Enforcement Agency. The attempt failed, however in January 1982 a Thai Ranger squad from Pak Thong Chai
, together with units from the Border Patrol Police and the Royal Thai Army, was used to force Khun Sa to move his headquarters from Ban Hin Taek across the border into Myanmar.
In 1985, Khun Sa joined forces with the Tai
Revolutionary Council of Moh Heng. Through that alliance he both gained control of the whole Thai-Burma border area from Mae Hong Son
to Mae Sai
and became one of the principal figures in opium smuggling in the Golden Triangle.
Over the two decades of his unrivalled dominance of the Shan state, from 1974 to 1994, the share of New York street heroin coming from the Golden Triangle—the northern parts of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos—rose from 5% to 80%. It was 90% pure, "the best in the business", according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. And Khun Sa, the DEA thought, had most of that trade.
A Panthay
Chinese muslim from Burma, Ma Zhengwen, assisted Khun Sa in selling his heroin in north Thailand.
In 1988, Khun Sa was interviewed by Australian journalist Stephen Rice
, who had crossed the border from Thailand into Burma illegally. Khun Sa offered to sell his entire heroin crop to the Australian Government for A$
50m a year for the next eight years, a move that would have virtually stopped the heroin trade into both Australia and the United States overnight. The Australian Government rejected the offer, with Senator Gareth Evans declaring: “The Australian Government is simply not in the business of paying criminals to refrain from criminal activity.”
In 1989, Khun Sa was charged by a New York
court for trying to import 1,000 tons of heroin. By then he had proposed the USA buy his entire opium production or he would sell it on the international narcotics market.
It is claimed that Khun Sa surrendered to Burmese officials in January 1996, reportedly because he did not want to face drug smuggling charges in the USA. The US DEA had promised $2 million reward for his arrest. Khun Sa left the Shan States for Rangoon, but he was never arrested by the government. Burmese officials refused to extradite
him, and he lived the rest of his life in the Rangoon area with significant investments in Yangon
, Mandalay
and Taunggyi
.
in the 2007 film American Gangster.
at the age of 73. The cause of death was not known, though he had suffered from diabetes, partial paralysis
and high blood pressure
. He is buried at Yeway Cemetery, North Okkalapa, Yangon Division, Burma.
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai
Mongyai Township
Mongyai Township is a township of Lashio District in the Shan State of eastern Burma. The principal town is Mongyai. Mount Loilaeng of Mongyai is the highest point in Shan State....
. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
trading in the so-called Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)
The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent and Pakistan, it has been one of the most...
. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army
Mong Tai Army
The Mong Tai Army is a former ressistance force of the Shan minority in Burma, founded by Khun Sa. It had up to 20 000 armed members and was one of the forces opposing the central government...
.
Biography
Khun Sa was born to a ChineseBurmese Chinese
The Burmese Chinese or Chinese Burmese are a group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Burma . Although the Chinese officially make up three percent of the population, the actual figure is believed to be much higher...
father and a Shan mother. He adopted the pseudonym Khun Sa, meaning "Prince Prosperous". In his youth he trained with the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
, which had fled into the border regions of Burma from Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
upon its defeat in the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, and eventually went to form his own army of a few hundred men. In 1963 he re-formed it into a Ka Kwe Ye local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
loyal to Gen Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
's Burmese government. Ka Kwe Ye received money, uniforms and weapons in return for fighting the Shan rebels
Shan State Army
The Shan State Army, or SSA, was an army formed in 1964 to resist the military government of Burma in Shan State.It later split into two factions, usually known in English as the Shan State Army - South or SSA-S, which continues to oppose the government, and the Shan State Army - North or SSA-N,...
.
When Khun Sa had expanded his army to 800 men, he stopped cooperating with the Burmese government, took control of large area in Shan
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
and Wa
Wa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
states and expanded into opium production. In 1967 he clashed with the Kuomintang remnants in Shan State, which resulted in his defeat, demoralizing him and his forces. In 1969, the Rangoon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
government captured him. He was freed in 1973 when his second-in-command abducted two Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n doctors and demanded his release. By 1976 he had returned to opium smuggling, and set up a base inside northern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in the village of Ban Hin Taek
Ban Hin Taek
Ban Hin Taek or Baan Hin Taek now renamed Ban Therd Thai – “Village to Honor Thailand”, is a village found in the Chiang Rai area in the northern part of Thailand. This village, composed mainly of Akha people, has had a very vivid history involving the notorious drug leader known as Khun Sa...
. He renamed his group the Shan United Army and began ostensibly fighting for Shan autonomy against the Burmese government.
In October 1981 a 39-man unit of Thai Rangers
Thahan Phran
The Thahan Phran is a paramilitary light infantry force which patrols the borders of Thailand and is part of the Royal Thai Army...
and Burmese guerrillas attempted to assassinate Khun Sa at the insistence of the US Drug Enforcement Agency. The attempt failed, however in January 1982 a Thai Ranger squad from Pak Thong Chai
Pak Thong Chai
Pak Thong Chai , Pak Thong Chai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, effective July 16 2008. The TAO was originally named Mueang Pak and was renamed together with the upgrade, as the central part of the subdistrict already forms a subdistrict municipality named Mueang Pak. The TAO was created in...
, together with units from the Border Patrol Police and the Royal Thai Army, was used to force Khun Sa to move his headquarters from Ban Hin Taek across the border into Myanmar.
In 1985, Khun Sa joined forces with the Tai
Tai peoples
The Tai ethnicity refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand, and parts of Vietnam, which speak languages in the Tai family and share similar traditions and festivals, including...
Revolutionary Council of Moh Heng. Through that alliance he both gained control of the whole Thai-Burma border area from Mae Hong Son
Mae Hong Son
Mae Hong Son ) is a town in north west Thailand, capital of the Mae Hong Son Province. It is located in the Shan Hills, near the border with Burma along the banks of the river Pai...
to Mae Sai
Mae Sai
Mae Sai is the northernmost district of Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. The town of Mae Sai is a major border crossing between Thailand and Burma...
and became one of the principal figures in opium smuggling in the Golden Triangle.
Over the two decades of his unrivalled dominance of the Shan state, from 1974 to 1994, the share of New York street heroin coming from the Golden Triangle—the northern parts of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos—rose from 5% to 80%. It was 90% pure, "the best in the business", according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. And Khun Sa, the DEA thought, had most of that trade.
A Panthay
Panthay
Panthays form a group of Chinese Muslims in Burma. Some people refer to Panthays as the oldest group of Chinese Muslims in Burma. However, because of intermixing and cultural diffusion the Panthays are not as distinct a group as they once were.-Etymology:...
Chinese muslim from Burma, Ma Zhengwen, assisted Khun Sa in selling his heroin in north Thailand.
In 1988, Khun Sa was interviewed by Australian journalist Stephen Rice
Stephen Rice (journalist)
Stephen Rice is an Australian journalist, author and television producer. He has been a producer on Australia's 60 Minutes since 2004, following ten years as executive producer of the Nine Network's news and public affairs program, Sunday....
, who had crossed the border from Thailand into Burma illegally. Khun Sa offered to sell his entire heroin crop to the Australian Government for A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
50m a year for the next eight years, a move that would have virtually stopped the heroin trade into both Australia and the United States overnight. The Australian Government rejected the offer, with Senator Gareth Evans declaring: “The Australian Government is simply not in the business of paying criminals to refrain from criminal activity.”
In 1989, Khun Sa was charged by a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
court for trying to import 1,000 tons of heroin. By then he had proposed the USA buy his entire opium production or he would sell it on the international narcotics market.
It is claimed that Khun Sa surrendered to Burmese officials in January 1996, reportedly because he did not want to face drug smuggling charges in the USA. The US DEA had promised $2 million reward for his arrest. Khun Sa left the Shan States for Rangoon, but he was never arrested by the government. Burmese officials refused to extradite
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
him, and he lived the rest of his life in the Rangoon area with significant investments in Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
and Taunggyi
Taunggyi
-Transportation:The main access to Taunggyi is by road. A railway line that passes through Taunggyi was recently built in 1995, but at the moment it offers no passenger service. Regular railway passenger service to the rest of the country is through the town of Shwenyaung, twelve miles to the...
.
In Media
Khun Sa was portrayed by actor Ric YoungRic Young
- Selected Filmography :- External links :...
in the 2007 film American Gangster.
Death
Khun Sa died on 26 October 2007 in YangonYangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
at the age of 73. The cause of death was not known, though he had suffered from diabetes, partial paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
and high blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
. He is buried at Yeway Cemetery, North Okkalapa, Yangon Division, Burma.
External links
- Obituary in The Times, 5 November 2007
- Khun Sa: Opium Warlord (documentary) – YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....