Kingpins

“Prince Prosperous” Pt. 1: Khun Sa

By the early 1950s, the teenaged Khun Sa was already a militia leader in war-torn northeast Burma (present-day Myanmar). Over the next decade, his power as a warlord only increased. When the Burmese government came to him with an offer of allyship, he set himself up to become the “Opium King” of the Golden Triangle.
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Undeniable power. Unbelievable stories. Unlikely origins. Kingpins follows the rise and fall of rulers of the underworld. Every Friday, we examine the leaders of organized crime rings, and how money and power corrupted and changed their communities. What makes a kingpin or queenpin, and how can we stop them? Kingpins is a Spotify Original from Parcast.