A new book explores the controversial life of a Kokang legend who pioneered the opium trade in the Golden Triangle and played a decades-long role in the region’s shadowy politics.
The long-time supplier of weapons to the Myanmar military accompanied revered Thai Buddhist monk Maing Hpone Sayadaw on a religious trip to northern Myanmar.
Successive dictators have appointed trusted confidants to lead their spy agencies, which act to entrench military rule through brutal repression of the population.