Khun Sa
“Ban Hin Taek's village headman Duangdee Khemmawongse recalls, ‘Khun Sa came to live at Ban Hin Taek in late 1964, when he was around 30 and left a year later. In 1976, he came back again with his wife and children.’” In 1974, Khun Sa was released from Burmese prison he set up his base 2 years later in Ban Hin Taek. As long as the Thai generals were getting some of the drug revenues, Khun Sa could keep operating in Ban Hin Taek. Khun Sa was also beneficial to the Thai because they hoped to topple the Kuomintang (KMT) and Rangoon’s hold on north-eastern Burma so that Thailand could become more influential in that area. At this point in time, Khun Sa appointed himself as liberator of the Shan people advocating for a separate Shan state within Burma. He also agreed to “suppress the Beijing-backed Burmese Communist and Thai Communist Parties” which at the time were very active in that area.