[7] He reportedly started his opium-trafficking career as chief of a local militia called Ka Kwe Ye (KKY)[8] set up with the encouragement of General Ne Win to fight the Communists.
His son, Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing), married to Cecilia Ng of Singapore in 1996, runs the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the construction and energy sectors.
[9][12] In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, in February 2008, the US government included Lo, his son, and daughter-in-law, along with the 10 companies they control in Singapore, in its targeted sanctions list of the military junta's business cronies.
[14] A video was leaked onto the internet, showing a well-fed Thandar Shwe, perspiring under the weight of diamond-encrusted necklaces and hairbands and swathed in yards of silk as plump junta members sat on gold-trimmed chairs in front of a five-tiered wedding cake and champagne.
Lo and his son, Steven Law, were two of the military's most important business partners and were awarded contracts to build roads, provincial seaports and other large infrastructure projects.