Drug Warlord Khun Sa Died

Former Drug Warlord Khun Sa, who had been on most wanted list by US authorities for narcotic charges and consequently been taking sanctuary in Rangoon, commercial capital of Burma, under the protection of Burmese military regime, died recently in Rangoon, aged 74. He had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension and stroke.

Khun Sa’s body was cremated at Ye Way cemetery in Rangoon on Tuesday morning, Burma Standard Time.

Who’s Khun Sa?

Khun Sa	in Shan dress	in business attire

Khun Sa was a mixed blood of Chinese (father) and Shan (mother); Shan is the second largest ethnic group in Burma. “Khun Sa” is his Shan name, and his Chinese name was “Chang Chi-fu”.

Khun Sa was born on February 17, 1933, in remote hilly region in North Eastern Burma. Khun Sa got little or no formal education during his childhood. But, instead, he got very good skills of fighting and opium production since very young age from practical experience. He fought against Kuomintang forces, which fled China and came into Burma when Mao’s Communists took over China. At first Khun Sa worked for Burmese army in the fight against Kuomintang. But later was jailed in 1969 because of his association with Shan separatist forces. He was freed five years later in exchange for two Russian doctors his followers had kidnapped.

Khun Sa & his Mong Tai Army…

Khun Sa checking his troops

He then set up a military base with his more than 15,000 strong MTA forces in Thailand near Burma border. Later he and his Mon Tai Army moved to Ho Mong. Ho Mong was not just a rebel military base. It was like a small city state complete with schools, hospitals etc for Shan villages under Khun Sa’s rule; Khun Sa regarding himself as a Shan freedom fighting hero rather than a drug warlord. Khun Sa unilaterally declared Shan State’s Independence from Union of Burma in 1993.

American Operation Tiger Trap: In 1989, Khun Sa was indicted for heroin trafficking by the U.S. District Court in New York. Operation Tiger Trap was then set up as a multi-agency international operation designed to disrupt the trafficking activities of the world’s largest heroin trafficking organization, the Shan United Army (SUA). Also known as the Mong Tai Army, led by Khun Sa. Tiger Trap was divided into phases that targeted key SUA functions. On November 27, 1994, based on U.S. indictments, teams of Royal Thai Police, Office of Narcotics Control Board Officers, and Royal Thai Army Special Forces Soldiers working with DEA special agents arrested those residing in Thailand. These arrests significantly affected the ability of the SUA to distribute heroin. The Royal Thai Army then worked with the Thai Border Patrol Police to close the Burma border to “commercial quantities” of goods entering the Shan State. This significantly affected the ability of Khun Sa to supply the SUA, and resulted over time in massive defections. (US DEA)

Chinese Trick: Chinese spies tried to help their crony Burmese military regime by setting a trick on Khun Sa. While Khun Sa was facing difficulties under Americal Tiger Trap Operation, Chinese agents approached Khun Sa and advised him to move his base from Ho Mong to further up north to Burma-China border. And when Khun Sa was vulnerable while marching with followers towards China border, Chinese tipped Burmese army and consequently Mon Tai Army was surrounded by Burmese forces.

Khun Sa’s Surrender: And eventually in 1996 Khun Sa accepted Burmese military regime’s amnesty and surrendered. American officials made a request to Burmese military regime for extradition of Khun Sa to USA. But, instead, Burmese regime made a secret pack with Khun Sa, allowing him to invest his drug money in Burma.

Photos below, Khun Sa & MTA’s surrender