Lo Hsing-Han, Khun Sa and the beginning of the war on drugs. Trafficking initially funded rebellion against the anti-democratic Burmese Army dictatorship. As guerilla armies fought to control the huge mule convoys transporting opium to the outside world, the U.S. intervened to attack the convoys, then arrested the first "King of Opium" after inviting him to negotiate.
Hong Kong, the drug capital of southeast Asia for the last century. The success of Hong Kong police in combating opium caused many opium users to switch to cheaper, more easily smuggled heroin in the 1970s.
Khun Sa changes sides in the narcotics carousel. Returning to the Shan war of independence, even with $80 million in U.S. military aid the Burmese Army never halted or captured a single drug convoy. Despite their dramatic arrests and surrenders, the two "Kings of Opium" are now richer and more powerful than ever.