1967 Opium War

1967 Opium War
Part of Laotian Civil War
Fighting took place close to the border of Laos, Burma and China
Date 29 July – 1 August 1967 Location Northwestern Laos Result Victory for General Ouane Rattikone and attention from the battle forced the Thai government to crack down on the Chinese. Khun Sa was defeated and his army dispersed.
Belligerents
Shan United Revolutionary Army	KMT forces	Kingdom of Laos
Commanders and leaders
Warlord Khun Sa	Li Mi	Ouane Rattikone
Units involved
Mule train	3rd Army 5th Army	Two RLA infantry battalions 2nd Paratroop Battalion
Strength
800 men	700–1,000 men	900–2,500 men Six AT-28s
Casualties and losses
82 KIA	70 KIA	Unknown

The 1967 Opium War took place in northwestern Laos between February and August 1967; actual fighting took place from 29 July to 1 August 1967. A mule train, led by Burmese militia, carrying 16 tons of opium crossed into Laos to Ban Khwan, where they were attacked by rival drug smugglers from the Chinese Nationalists' Third and Fifth Armies. The intended recipient of the shipment, Royal Lao Army General Ouane Rattikone, bombed both sides while moving in troops to sweep the battlefield. With both Burmese militia and Nationalist Chinese defeated and expelled from Laos, the Lao general confiscated the opium for himself.

With this supply of raw opium base, plus his greater grasp on the drug trade, Ouane's refineries began to ship their heroin worldwide. He also supplied this injectable heroin to his allies – U.S. troops in the Vietnam War.