The Heroin Wars (1996)

History of the narcotics trade in Burma and the War on Drugs. In 1964, director Adrian Cowell and cameraman Chris Menges went to mountainous eastern Burma to film the Shan revolutionary forces fighting a bloody civil war against the military dictatorship. The impoverished Shans had only one way to finance the war: opium. Cowell has returned several times over the last 30 years to record the ongoing civil war and the burgeoning opium trade. The first and last episodes are produced in association with WGBH/FRONTLINE.

The Heroin Wars

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Seasons

Season 1

Miniseries

Episodes season 1

  • 1x1

    The opium convoys

  • 1x2

    Smack city

  • 1x3

    The kings of opium

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