Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA

The gripping true story of an indigenous people running the world’s mightiest narco-state—and America’s struggle to thwart them.

In Asia’s narcotics-producing heartland, the Wa reign supreme. They dominate the Golden Triangle, a mountainous stretch of Burma between Thailand and China. Their 30,000-strong army, wielding missiles and attack drones, makes Mexican cartels look like street gangs.

Wa moguls are unrivaled in the region’s $60 billion meth trade and infamous for mass-producing pi...