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120-565: Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug lord who operated in Harlem , New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, as depicted in

240-413: A corrupt police chief steals 100 assault rifles from an evidence room in his police station , after they were confiscated from an arms trafficker during a search and seizure; eventually, he sells all of them at once to a drug lord, for US$ 400,000 in total. If a drug lord has strong ties to a corrupt politician in office, such as a mayor, for example, he can ask the mayor to fire a police chief , who

360-449: A drug cartel . Since the 1970s, research on organized crime leadership (and, by extension, drug lords) has evolved. Where once studies emphasised the importance of the leader's human capital (e.g. individual traits), it has now developed to focus upon the leader's social capital (e.g. information and resource brokers, social status, access to information). Known as "El Padrino" (The Godfather) and "El Jefe de Jefes" (The boss of Bosses)

480-437: A 25-year prison term for a number of federal violations. Following his conviction, Rodriguez continued to operate his illicit business from behind bars, importing as much as 12,500 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. each month and ordering numerous murders of informants, witnesses, in the U.S. and Colombia. He reigned and flourished while incarcerated until he was placed in court-ordered high-security isolation in 1994. According to

600-556: A December 2007 Village Voice article, had been married for 40 years at the time. Lucas fathered seven children. Lucas-Sinclair entered the witness protection program with Lucas in 1977. He started a website, Yellow Brick Road, containing resources for the children of imprisoned parents. Lucas was known to be eclectic in his religious preferences, having converted to the Catholic faith while at prison in Elmira , which he stated he did because

720-587: A Jamaican checkpoint on 22 June 2010. Demetrius Flenory is known as one of the co-founders of the Black Mafia Family , a Detroit -based drug-trafficking organization involving the large-scale distribution of cocaine throughout the U.S. from 1990 to 2005. There are currently plans to produce a film based upon his career. Jose Figueroa Agosto (born June 28, 1964), also known as "José David Figueroa Agosto", "Junior Capsula" and "the Don Pablo Escobar of

840-458: A ballad extolling his life on the run. In July 2015, Guzman escaped a second time from a maximum-security prison through a hole in a shower floor that led to a mile-long tunnel, ending at a nearby house. A large-scale manhunt ensued. On 8 January 2016, Guzmán was captured by the Mexican Marines . Osiel Cárdenas Guillén (born 18 May 1967) is a former Mexican drug lord who was the leader of

960-442: A bed, flowers, and paintings. For some crime lords, a short jail or prison sentence, serves as a way to avoid further persecution. In Mexico, after the arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo , there was a rise in the rate of violence. Félix was particularly known for his use of non-violence to keep his business running smooth and had bribed many political authorities for protecting himself and his business. He divided his territory and

1080-575: A blind eye towards the criminal activities of the drug lords and leak confidential information to them about police operations in exchange for bribes. It is crucial for drug lords to gain access to confidential information about police operations, so they are able to: know when and where the police carry out patrols; identify witnesses , informants , and undercover police ; detect the presence of wiretaps , bugs , and other forms of police surveillance; receive advance notice of criminal investigations , police raids , sting operations , and manhunts ; know

1200-619: A complete ban on the growing of Turkish poppies for the production of opium , effective June 29, 1971. During these protracted negotiations, law enforcement personnel went into action. One of the major roundups began on January 4, 1972, when agents from the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) and French authorities seized 110 pounds (50 kg) of heroin at the Paris airport. Subsequently, traffickers Jean-Baptiste Croce and Joseph Mari were arrested in Marseille. One such French seizure from

1320-509: A decade, Panamanian Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. Noriega facilitated "guns-for-drugs" flights for the Nicaraguan Contras , whom the U.S. were heavily supporting: providing protection and pilots, safe havens for drug cartel officials, and discreet banking facilities. He

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1440-502: A medium-security prison in Guadalajara (State of Jalisco), due to his declining health. He still strongly denies any involvement in the murder of Enrique Camarena. He was particularly known for using less violence and many even attribute the current bloodshed due to the turf war between rival cartels to the fall of Félix Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (December 1, 1949 – December 2, 1993) was a Colombian drug overlord. Often referred to as

1560-792: A meeting between Sicilian Mafia and American Mafia members was held at the Grand Hotel et des Palmes in Palermo to discuss the international illegal heroin trade in the French Connection. The first major French Connection seizure in the 1960s began in June, when an informant told a drug agent in Lebanon that Mauricio Rosal, the Guatemalan Ambassador to Belgium , the Netherlands and Luxembourg ,

1680-618: A pipe, knocking him unconscious. He then stole $ 400 from the company safe and set the establishment on fire. Later, Frank fled to New York City at the behest of his mother, who feared that he would either be imprisoned for life or lynched. Once in Harlem , he quickly began indulging in petty crime and pool hustling before he was taken under the wing of gangster Bumpy Johnson . Lucas' connection to Johnson has since come under some doubt; he claimed to have been Johnson's driver for 15 years, although Johnson spent just five years out of prison before his death in 1968. According to Johnson's widow, much of

1800-578: A potential profit of no less than $ 300,000 per kilo (2.2 lbs.). This huge profit margin allowed him to buy property all over the country, including office buildings in Detroit and apartments in Los Angeles and Miami. He also bought a ranch of several thousand acres in North Carolina on which he ranged 300 head of Black Angus cattle , including a breeding bull worth $ 125,000. Lucas rubbed shoulders with

1920-526: A result of the efforts of his attorneys, Manuel J. Retureta and A. Eduardo Balarezo. Michael Christopher Coke (born 13 March 1969), a.k.a. Dudus, is a Jamaican drug lord and the leader of the Shower Posse gang . He is the youngest son of drug lord Lester Lloyd Coke whose extradition had also, prior to his 1992 death in a Jamaican prison cell, been requested by the U.S. Until the younger Coke's handover to U.S. forces on 24 June 2010, "Dudus" served as

2040-487: A sentence of five years' probation. Lucas' life was dramatized in the Universal Pictures crime film American Gangster (2007), in which he was portrayed by Denzel Washington . Lucas was often on set during the filming providing advice; on how he carried his gun, for example. In an interview with MSNBC , Lucas expressed his excitement about the film and amazement at Washington's portrayal, though he admitted only

2160-766: A series of articles by journalist Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News revealed a connection between Ross's main cocaine source, Danilo Blandon , and the CIA as part of the Iran–Contra affair . Ross's case went before the federal court of appeals and his sentence was reduced to 20 years. He was later moved to a halfway house in March 2009 and released from custody on September 29, 2009. In June 2014, Ross released his book, Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography , co-written by crime-writer Cathy Scott . For more than

2280-734: A single person who is identifiable as a DEA agent." Many of Lucas' other claims, as presented in the film, have also been called into question, such as his being the right-hand man of Bumpy Johnson , rising above the power of the Mafia and Nicky Barnes , and being the mastermind behind the Golden Triangle heroin connection of the 1970s. Ron Chepesiuk, a Lucas biographer, said there was no evidence to confirm Lucas' claim that he once (not frequently, as some sources had suggested) used coffins to ship heroin. Associated Press entertainment writer Frank Coyle noted, "[T]his mess happened partially because journalists have been relying on secondary sources removed from

2400-460: A small portion of the film was true, much of it fabricated for narrative effect. In addition, Lucas's former prosecutor Richie Roberts criticized the film for portraying him in a custody battle while in real life Roberts never had a child. He also criticized the portrayal of Lucas as a seemingly noble individual. Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. described the film as "one percent reality and ninety-nine percent Hollywood ." In addition, Johnson described

2520-582: A street value of $ 50 million. In a 14-month period, starting in February 1972, six major illicit heroin laboratories were seized and dismantled in the suburbs of Marseille by French national narcotics police in collaboration with agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration . On February 29, 1972, French authorities seized the shrimp boat, Caprice des Temps , as it put to sea near Marseille heading towards Miami . It

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2640-763: Is also common for drug lords to intimidate, threaten, blackmail, or assassinate political candidates, who reject their political donations and/or bribes. Drug lords also take advantage of police corruption , judicial corruption , prosecutorial corruption , and military corruption , through bribery, especially if the drug lords already possess a certain level of impunity, granted by corrupt politicians. They can influence legal proceedings, obstruct investigations, and avoid facing charges or indictments for their crimes, through bribing prosecutors . Drug lords can bribe judges and jurors, to influence court decisions, secure favorable rulings, and avoid conviction or receive lenient sentences for their offenses. Corrupt police officers can turn

2760-814: Is also common for drug lords to use violence or intimidation, as an additional tool for controlling or influencing members of law-enforcement agencies . For example, Pablo Escobar was known for using a carrot-and-stick approach, by offering "lead or silver" to Colombian police officers, judges, prosecutors, and military personnel. A drug lord with strong ties to corrupt politicians in office, is also more likely to be able to get away with committing such acts of violence. In some cases, corrupt politicians in office, may collude with drug lords to commit acts of violence or intimidation against members of law-enforcement agencies, who investigate or prosecute political corruption, to prevent said politicians in office from being charged, prosecuted, arrested, and/or convicted for corruption. One of

2880-450: Is denied by his South Asian associate, Leslie "Ike" Atkinson . His career was dramatized in the 2007 feature film American Gangster starring Denzel Washington . Leroy Antonio "Nicky" Barnes (born October 15, 1933) was a former drug lord and crime boss of the notorious African-American crime organization known as The Council , which controlled the heroin trade in Harlem, New York during

3000-511: Is difficult for drug lords to operate in developed countries, such as the United States or Canada, in modern times. However, it is still relatively common for drug lords and drug cartels to operate with certain levels of impunity in developing countries, especially Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico, in modern times. Another trend that has been emerging in

3120-481: Is not allied with the drug lord, and to appoint a new one, who is allied. This simple appointment facilitates the drug lord's ability, to bribe and influence the ranks of a police force, from top to bottom. A drug lord who has enough influence over a corrupt police force, can utilize the police to target his rivals in the drug trade. This practice is common in Mexico, where drug cartels de facto control different regions of

3240-939: Is not as common as it was in the past. For example, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada held de facto control over the Mexican state of Durango , by contributing donations to political campaigns during gubernatorial elections, along with assassinating political candidates who rejected his donations, and through bribing and intimidating the Durango State Police . As of early 2023, he had never been arrested or incarcerated. He was, however, arrested in 2024. In developed countries , drug lords seldom control local and regional governments; they also have less influence over their surroundings, and their ability to continue to run their businesses, upon being arrested and incarcerated. Unlike developing countries, developed countries have stronger rule of law and do not suffer from nearly as much corruption. Hence, it

3360-479: Is notorious for its use of violence, for its numerous confrontations with police officers and because of their violent conflicts over territory control and the control of drug trafficking against another powerful Brazilian criminal organization, the Comando Vermelho (or CV), a powerful crime syndicate based in the city of Rio de Janeiro . Griselda Blanco (1943–2012), known as the "Godmother of Cocaine",

3480-497: Is present or rife, and rule of law is missing or lacking. In narco-states , corrupt politicians and drug lords have symbiotic relationships. Drug lords can benefit from political corruption and patronage , by contributing donations to political candidates, and/or by colluding with political candidates to rig elections in their favor, through vote buying and/or voter intimidation, in exchange for political favors. After such candidates are elected, they use their power to reward

3600-423: The de facto leader of Tivoli Gardens in the city of Kingston ; prior to his 2010 capture Jamaican police were unable to enter this neighborhood without community consent. The son of a prominent drug lord, Coke grew up wealthy, going to school with children of the country's political elite. Ruling the gang where his father left off, he became a leader in the community of Tivoli Gardens, distributing money to

3720-701: The Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas . Originally a mechanic in Matamoros, Tamaulipas , Guillén eventually became involved in the illegal drug trade the Gulf Cartel before becoming its leader in 1997 by assassinating drug lord Salvador Gómez Herrera . Guillén recruited over 30 deserters from the Mexican Army 's special forces unit, the Cuerpo de Fuerzas Especiales , to form the cartel's armed wing; this group would go on to be among

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3840-615: The Juarez Cartel . In the months before his death, the DEA described Carrillo as the most-powerful drug trafficker of his era, and many analysts claimed profits neared $ 25 billion. Guzman is the most notorious drug lord of all time, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In the 1980s, he was a member of the Guadalajara Cartel and used to work for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo . After Félix's arrest in 1989, Guzmán formed

3960-558: The Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB). In his house, authorities found $ 584,683 in cash, though Lucas contended that the officers executing the search departed with the full eleven million dollars temporarily stored in his attic, and documented only 5% of the currency seized. Lucas was convicted of both federal and New Jersey state drug violations, with the case against him built largely on over two years of investigative work and penetration of his distribution network by

4080-624: The Sinaloa Cartel along with Ismael Zambada García and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar . He is well known for his use of sophisticated tunnels—similar to the one located in Douglas, Arizona —to smuggle cocaine from Mexico into the United States in the early 1990s. In 1993, a 7.3-ton shipment of his cocaine , concealed in cans of chili peppers and destined for the United States, was seized in Tecate , Baja California . That same year he barely escaped an ambush by

4200-638: The Tijuana Cartel led by Ramon Arellano Felix and his gunmen. After being captured in Guatemala, he was jailed in 1993 and in 1995 he was moved to the maximum-security prison called Puente Grande, but paid his way out of prison and hid in a laundry van as it drove through the gates. On 22 February 2014, Guzmán was arrested again. He is considered a folk hero in the narcotics world, celebrated by musicians who write and perform narcocorridos (drug ballads) extolling his exploits. For example, Los Traviezos recorded

4320-525: The drive-by motorcycle shooting execution method. It was estimated that she was responsible for the homicides of 200 people in Colombia, Florida, New York, and California. Arrested in 1985 for drug-trafficking charges, she was subsequently convicted and spent almost 20 years in a U.S. prison. She was killed by motorcycle hitmen in Colombia on 3 September 2012 as she was coming out of a butcher's shop. Pablo Escobar started to buy cocaine from Roberto Suárez in

4440-403: The intertitle at the end of the film was "wholly inaccurate", in that Lucas' cooperation did not lead to the convictions, and admonished, "It would behoove a major corporation like Universal (which is owned by a major news organization, NBC ) not to put inaccurate statements at the end of popular films." She stated the film failed to meet legal standards of defamation because it failed to "show

4560-425: The radio frequencies used by police radios ; etc. For example, a corrupt police commander helps a drug lord evade capture, by alerting him to an upcoming police raid in his mansion 1 hour in advance. Hence, the police fail to find the drug lord in his mansion during the raid, because he dodged them. A drug lord can cover up his criminal activities and obstruct criminal investigations, by: destroying or concealing

4680-478: The remaining members of his organization formed other cartels . He kept in contact with the drug lords and remained as one of Mexico's major traffickers until he was transferred to Altiplano maximum security prison. Eventually, the cartels fought each other for territory and lead to brutal Drug Wars which caused thousands of deaths. In developing countries , it is still common for drug lords to control local and regional governments, although this phenomenon

4800-488: The "World's Greatest Outlaw", Escobar was perhaps the most elusive cocaine trafficker to have ever existed. He is considered the 'King of Cocaine' and is known as the lord of all drug lords. In 1989, Forbes magazine declared Escobar as the seventh-richest man in the world, with an estimated personal fortune of US$ 30 billion. In 1986, he attempted to enter Colombian politics. It is said that Pablo Escobar once burnt two million dollars in cash to keep his daughter warm while on

4920-423: The "Z-Team" (Eddie Jones, Al Spearman, and Benny Abruzzo). He was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Lucas then cut a deal to provide information that led to over 100 additional drug-related convictions; in exchange, he and his family entered the witness protection program . In 1981, after five years in custody, his 40-year federal term and 30-year state term were reduced to time served plus lifetime parole. In 1984, he

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5040-459: The 1960s was Corsican Jean Jehan. Although Jehan is reported to have arranged the famous 1962 deal gone wrong of 64 pounds of "pure" heroin, he was never arrested for his involvement in international heroin smuggling. According to Grosso, all warrants for the arrest of Jehan were left open. For years thereafter, Jehan was reported to be seen arranging and operating drug activities at will throughout Europe. According to William Friedkin , director of

5160-674: The 1970s when he had just created the Medellín cartel . Suárez started building cocaine laboratories in the middle of the Bolivian Amazon jungle and in the zone of "Los Yungas" in the end of the 1960s and created the first cocaine cartel in Bolivia called "La Corporación". At first, the Medellin cartel bought cocaine at $ 8,000 per kilogram ($ 3,600/lb). La Corporación then sold cocaine-based paste to Colombian cartels, and they finished and distributed it in

5280-438: The 1970s. In 2007 he released a book, Mr Untouchable , written with Tom Folsom, and a documentary DVD of the same name, about his life. In the 2007 film American Gangster , Barnes is portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. Zhenli Ye Gon (traditional Chinese: 葉真理; born January 31, 1963, Shanghai, People's Republic of China) is a Mexican businessman of Chinese origin accused of trafficking pseudoephedrine into Mexico from Asia . At

5400-590: The 1971 film The French Connection , Jehan had been a member of the French Resistance to Nazi Occupation during World War II and, because of that, French law enforcement officials refused to arrest him. Friedkin was told that Jehan died peacefully of old age at his home in Corsica. Following five subsequent years of concessions, combined with international cooperation, the Turkish government finally agreed in 1971 to

5520-541: The Bureau of Prisons, Rodriguez was released in 2012. Born on April 13, 1968, in Osasco (a city located in the state of São Paulo , Brazil ), Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as " Marcola " is one of the founders and the current leader of Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), the largest and the most powerful Brazilian criminal organization . A Brazilian with Bolivian origins , Marcola (whose criminal career began when he

5640-541: The Cali Cartel. Within six years he had amassed a fortune exceeding over US$ 300 million by shipping drugs from Colombia to nearly every state in the U.S. He was one of the most ruthless international drug lords unknown to law enforcement or governments. During that time, the murder rate and cocaine-related hospital emergencies in the United States doubled. He was arrested on July 6, 1990, in Tallahassee, Florida and sentenced to

5760-630: The Caribbean", is a Puerto Rican drug trafficker. As the head of a major drug trafficking organization that made 90% of cocaine in Puerto Rico, Figueroa Agosto is considered to be one of the most dangerous drug lords of Puerto Rico. He was the most wanted fugitive in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic . Jari Seppo Aarnio (born 5 September 1957) is the former chief investigator and head of Helsinki 's anti-drugs police , who spent 30 years in

5880-733: The Corsican underworld had been involved in the manufacturing and trafficking of heroin, primarily to the United States . It was this heroin network that eventually became known as "the French Connection". The Corsican Gang was protected by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the SDECE after World War II in exchange for working to prevent French Communists from bringing the Old Port of Marseille under their control. Historically,

6000-552: The East Coast of the United States during the early 1970s, which in turn led to a major New York Police Department (NYPD) corruption scheme. The scope and depth of this scheme are still not known, but officials suspect it involved corrupt NYPD officers who allowed Papa, Alessi, and Loria access to the NYPD property/evidence storage room, where hundreds of kilograms of heroin lay seized from the now-infamous French Connection bust, and from which

6120-623: The French Connection in 1973 netted 210 pounds (95 kg) of heroin worth $ 38 million. In February 1972, French traffickers offered a United States Army sergeant $ 96,000 (equivalent to $ 699,265 in 2023) to smuggle 240 pounds (109 kg) of heroin into the United States. He informed his superior who in turn notified the BNDD. As a result of this investigation, five men in New York and two in Paris were arrested with 264 pounds (120 kg) of heroin, which had

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6240-633: The French liner St. Tropez . On January 7, 1949, more than 50 pounds (22.75 kg) of opium and heroin were seized on the French ship Batista . After Paul Carbone's death, the Guérini clan was the ruling dynasty of the Unione Corse and had systematically organized the smuggling of opium from Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries . The Guérini clan was led by Marseille mob boss Antoine Guérini and his brothers, Barthelemy, Francois and Pascal. In October 1957,

6360-632: The Pacific coast operations, with Ismael Zambada García joining them soon after and thus becoming the Sinaloa Cartel , who was not yet a party to the 1989 pact. Félix Gallardo still planned to oversee national operations and remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining his organization via mobile phone until he was transferred in the 1990s to the Altiplano maximum security prison and lost all remaining contacts with other drug lords. On 18 December 2014, federal authorities approved his request to transfer to

6480-557: The U.S. in 2006. However, extradition may be prohibited if the person faces either the death penalty or a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Nevertheless, such efforts have failed to curb the rise of new drug lords because of widespread corruption in foreign countries, especially Latin American countries. Today, there are also many drug lords in Latin America, who have never been extradited, and continue to operate with impunity. French Connection The French Connection

6600-473: The U.S. than any other trafficker, building a fortune of over $ 25 billion. He was called El Señor de Los Cielos ("The Lord of the Skies") for his use of over 22 private 727 jet airliners to transport Colombian cocaine to municipal airports and dirt airstrips around Mexico, including Juárez. He was a member of the Guadalajara Cartel and worked for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo . After Félix was arrested, Amado formed

6720-519: The US from South America . He was also allegedly the leader of the infamous "Phantom Squad," a death squad that was active in Guyana between 2002 and 2006. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Following the death of Pablo Escobar in 1993, significant changes occurred in the structure of the drug trade, departing from massive cartels such as Juan David Ochoa 's Medellín cartel . Drug lords have begun breaking

6840-476: The United States annually from France. The French traffickers continued to exploit the demand for their illegal product, and by 1969, they were supplying the United States with 80 percent of its heroin. On April 26, 1968, a record setting seizure was made, 246 lb (111.6 kg) of heroin smuggled to New York concealed in a Citroën DS on the SS France (1960) ocean liner. The total amount smuggled during

6960-602: The actual events." Lucas appears as a minor supporting character in the Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema / HBO Films co-production The Many Saints of Newark (2021). The film, a prequel to the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos , features Lucas (Oberon K.A. Adjepong) giving advice to up and coming mobster Harold McBrayer ( Leslie Odom Jr. ) while he is on the run in North Carolina, inspiring him to form his own black criminal organization once he returns to Newark. The rise of

7080-402: The actual trade in drugs by several layers of staff. The prosecution of drug lords is therefore usually the result of carefully planned infiltration into their networks, often using informants from within the organizations. When a group of independent drug lords collude with each other, in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade , they form an organization called

7200-508: The anti-drugs force in Finland . He has been sentenced to jail for drug crimes and other offences. Known as "The Dapper Don" , Christy Kinahan (born 1958) is a notorious Irish drug lord from Dublin, Ireland and the head of Kinahan Cartel , a powerful Irish crime syndicate with territories in several countries around the world, such as Spain ( Costa del Sol ), United Arab Emirates ( Dubai ), The Netherlands , among others. Under

7320-452: The area's poor, creating employment, and setting up community centers. In 2009, the U.S. began requesting his extradition , and in May 2010, a recalcitrant Government of Jamaica issued a warrant. That same month the government took steps to capture Coke. In a run-up to Coke's arrest, more than 70 people–all but one of them civilians–died in a 24 May 2010 raid of Tivoli Gardens. He was arrested at

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7440-524: The big city. He stated his heroin, which was sold under the street name "Blue Magic", was 98–100% pure when shipped from Thailand; since he did not cut it like many of his competitors, the product was extremely addictive and could be sold at higher prices. Lucas also has been quoted as saying that his worth was "something like $ 52 million", most of it in Cayman Islands banks. Added to this is "maybe 1,000 keys [kilograms; or, 2,200 pounds] of dope on hand" with

7560-510: The border into the United States. He is known as the first and currently the only drug lord to be executed by the United States federal government under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 . He was executed for three murders he committed in Texas, but was also found to be responsible for five other murders, four of which were committed in Mexico. Liu Zhaohua (March 5, 1965 – September 15, 2009)

7680-605: The busiest ports in the western Mediterranean Sea , known for shipping all types of illegal goods. The Marseille heroin was considered high quality. The convenience of the port at Marseille and the frequent arrival of ships from opium-producing countries made it easy to smuggle the morphine base to Marseille from the Far East or the Near East . The French underground would then ship large quantities of heroin from Marseille to New York City . The first significant post-World War II seizure

7800-489: The command of Christy Kinahan, the Kinahan Cartel became responsible for a large part of drug smuggling (such as heroin , ecstasy and methamphetamine ) and arms smuggling to many places in the world. According to Gardai (the national police of Ireland ), Kinahan has connections with other powerful Irish mobsters like George Mitchell (Known as "The Penguin" ) (a notorious gangster from Ballyfermot and cousin of

7920-580: The country, including the municipal and state police forces of said regions, and often use them as weapons for targeting rival drug cartels. Some drug lords and drug cartels have so much influence over certain police forces, that they are able to gain access to police badges, uniforms, equipment, and vehicles, so they can impersonate police officers . In some cases, drug lords also hire corrupt police officers as bodyguards , hitmen , or kidnappers . Corrupt politicians in office, can also appoint corruptible judges , prosecutors , and military officers , whom

8040-419: The course of his rise, prosecutors estimate that Ross transported several tons of cocaine to New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, and made more than $ 600 million in the process." In 1998, Ross was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of purchasing more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent during a sting operation. Ross became the subject of controversy later that year when

8160-438: The drug lords can also bribe and influence. A drug lord who has enough influence over a corrupt judiciary or a corrupt military unit , can also utilize them as weapons for targeting rivals in the drug trade. For example, some corrupt prosecutors and judges collude with a drug lord, by filing criminal charges and issuing arrest warrants on his rivals in the drug trade, while said drug lord operates with total impunity. It

8280-400: The drug lords, who supported them. The rewards might include: impunity , import/export licenses, and/or favorable decisions, such as banning extradition , softening laws against drug-trafficking, etc. For example, Juan Orlando Hernández protected drug cartels, who contributed donations to his presidential campaign, from criminal investigations, prosecutions, arrests, and convictions, after he

8400-448: The drugs among the corpses of American soldiers. Instead, he flew with a North Carolina carpenter to Bangkok and: We did it, all right...ha, ha, ha... Who the hell is gonna look in a dead soldier's coffin? Ha ha ha. . . .We had him make up 28 copies of the government coffins . . . except we fixed them up with false bottoms, big enough to load up with six, maybe eight kilos . . . It had to be snug. You couldn't have shit sliding around. Ike

8520-418: The east of the United States. The finished cocaine was sold directly to Mexican cartels for distribution in the west of the United States. Suárez received untold amounts of money, but as detectives and journalists discovered the corruption between Bolivia and the U.S., the empire Suárez built began to fall. Suárez was arrested by the DEA in 1988, and Escobar took over of the production and distribution of 80% of

8640-608: The elite of the entertainment, political, and criminal worlds of his time, stating later that he had met Howard Hughes at one of Harlem's best clubs in his day. Though he owned several mink and chinchilla coats and other accessories, he was known to dress in inexpensive suits and clothing so as not to attract attention. When he was arrested in the mid-1970s, all of Lucas' assets were seized, as he later recounted: The properties in Chicago, Detroit, Miami, North Carolina, Puerto Rico — they took everything. My lawyer told me they couldn't take

8760-407: The end of the 1960s, after Robert Blemant's assassination by Antoine Guérini, a gang war started in Marseille, caused by competition over casino revenues. Blemant's associate Marcel Francisci continued the war over the next years. Former New York City Police Department Narcotics Bureau detective Sonny Grosso has stated that the kingpin of the French Connection heroin ring during the 1950s into

8880-509: The evidence of said activities; intimidating witnesses , to prevent them from testifying against them; and murdering informants, who provide information to the police about his criminal activities. Although, drug lords do not need to bribe every police officer in a police force, they must be able to bribe some high-ranking and mid-ranking cops, in addition to some low-rankings ones, in order to achieve long-term impunity, because high-ranking and mid-ranking cops oversee police operations and have

9000-536: The feature film American Gangster (2007), which fictionalized aspects of his life. This claim was denied by his Southeast Asian associate Leslie "Ike" Atkinson . In 1976, Lucas was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 70 years in prison, but after becoming an informant , he and his family were placed in the Witness Protection Program . In 1981, his federal and state prison sentences were reduced to time served plus lifetime parole. In 1984 he

9120-401: The founding members of Los Zetas, another Mexican drug cartel. In 1999, Guillén and a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen threatened two U.S. federal agents at gunpoint , which triggered a massive combined effort from American and Mexican law enforcement agencies to crack down on the leadership structure of the Gulf Cartel and led to Guillén becoming one of the most wanted criminals in the world. Guillén

9240-543: The fugitive has become more powerful as his fellow kingpins have fallen, including one who was allegedly killed on Zambada's orders. Klaas Bruinsma (1953–1991) was a major Dutch drug lord, shot to death by mafia member and former police officer Martin Hoogland. Bruinsma was known as "De Lange" ("the tall one") and as "De Dominee" ("the preacher") because of his black clothing and his habit of lecturing others. Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva (September 27, 1961 – December 16, 2009)

9360-556: The governments of the locations they operate in, through bribery , corruption , obstruction of justice , intimidation , contract killings , and narco-terrorism . They may also control or influence civilian populations through violence, and/or by winning hearts and minds . Drug lords like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo, are both known for controlling or influencing the civilian populations of their territories through using both methods. This phenomenon takes place in developing countries with weak and/or corrupt governments, where impunity

9480-554: The half black, half Italian mob kingpin Lincoln Clay in the 2016 action adventure game Mafia III in which he is the protagonist, is heavily inspired by the history and the rise of Frank Lucas. Lucas' wife, Julie Farrait, was also convicted for her role in her husband's criminal enterprise and spent five years in prison. After she was released, the couple lived separately for some years, and Farrait moved back to Puerto Rico. After several years, however, they reconciled, and according to

9600-455: The incident that motivated him to embark on a life of crime was him witnessing his 12-year-old cousin's murder at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan , for looking flirtatiously at a white woman. He drifted through a life of petty crime until one occasion when he got into a fight with a former employer with whose daughter he had been having an affair. In the fight, Lucas hit the father on the head with

9720-585: The large cartels into much smaller organizations. In so doing, they decreased the number of people involved and shrank their role as targets—most likely in an attempt to avoid the fate of their predecessors. With newer technology, drug lords are able to manage their operations more effectively from behind the scenes, keeping themselves out of the spotlight and off the FBI and DEA wanted lists. These smaller cartels are slowly proving to be safer and more profitable for those involved. Drug lords often have de facto control over

9840-443: The last decade is a willingness of local authorities to cooperate with foreign nations, most notably the U.S., in an effort to apprehend and incarcerate drug lords. Recently, especially in the last five years, countries have been more willing to extradite their drug lords to face charges in other countries, an act that not only benefits them directly but also gives them favor with foreign governments. Mexico extradited 63 drug dealers to

9960-407: The many transatlantic voyages of just this one car was 1,606 lb (728.5 kg) according to arrested smuggler Jacques Bousquet. In an effort to limit the most proximate source of supply to the Corsican cartel, US officials went to Turkey to negotiate the phasing out of opium production. Initially, the Turkish government agreed to limit their opium production starting with the 1968 crop. At

10080-437: The men would help themselves and replace missing heroin with flour and corn starch to avoid detection. The substitution was discovered only when officers noticed insects eating all the bags of "heroin". By that point an estimated street value of approximately $ 70 million worth of heroin had already been taken. The racket was brought to light and arrests were made. Certain plotters received jail sentences, including Papa, who

10200-549: The money in the offshore accounts, and I had all my money stored in the Cayman Islands. But that's BS; they can take it. Take my word for it. If you got something, hide it, 'cause they can go to any bank and take it. In January 1975, Lucas' home in Teaneck, New Jersey , was raided by a task force consisting of 10 agents from Group 22 of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and 10 New York Police Department detectives attached to

10320-461: The most access to confidential information. Hence, drug lords, who only bribe low-ranking cops, can achieve short-term impunity, but not long-term impunity. In some cases, drug lords also have to bribe corrupt police officers, to retrieve drugs or weapons, that were confiscated from them during searches and seizures . In other cases, corrupt police officers might sell weapons or drugs to drug lords, that were confiscated from other criminals. For example,

10440-498: The most-notorious examples of the treatment given to drug lords is the incarceration of Escobar. Although Escobar was, after turning himself in, jailed for his participation in drug trafficking in Colombia, the "jail" in which he was captive, was a million-dollar palace built with his own funds and guarded by his own private army . Another famous crime lord who enjoyed lightened jail life was Al Capone , who continued to run his business from his jail cell, which contained tables, chairs,

10560-588: The narrative that Lucas claimed as his actually belonged to another young hustler named Zach Walker, who lived with Johnson and his family and later betrayed him. After Johnson's death, Lucas turned to drug trafficking, and realized that, to be successful, he would have to break the monopoly that the Mafia held over the trade in New York. Traveling to Bangkok , he eventually made his way to Jack's American Star Bar, an R&R hangout for black soldiers. There he met former U.S. Army master sergeant Leslie "Ike" Atkinson , who

10680-585: The nation's top drug narcos in 1989 at a house in the resort of Acapulco where he designated the plazas (turfs) or territories. The Tijuana route would go to his nephews, the Arellano Felix brothers . The Ciudad Juárez route would go to the Carrillo Fuentes family and to Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Miguel Caro Quintero would run the Sonora corridor . Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar were left

10800-497: The ones who rejected his bribes, came to be known as "silver or lead" or "money or bullets". When the Colombian government launched a manhunt for Escobar, it needed assistance from the DEA , the CIA , the Cali Cartel, and Los Pepes . On December 2, Search Bloc killed Escobar on a rooftop. As a top drug lord in Mexico, Amado Carrillo (1956–1997) was transporting four times more cocaine to

10920-685: The politicians Gay Mitchell and Jim Mitchell ). The Kinahan Cartel is notorious for its bloody feud against another powerful Irish crime syndicate, the Hutch gang (led by Gerry Hutch ), in a gang war that became known as the Hutch–Kinahan feud (whose conflict started after the murder of Gary Hutch, Gerry Hutch's nephew and the Shooting of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin whose main target

11040-485: The prison chaplain assisted inmates being released on parole. He had Baptist affiliations as well. In his last years, Lucas used a wheelchair due to a car accident that broke his legs. Lucas died at the age of 88 on May 30, 2019, in Cedar Grove, New Jersey . Drug lord Such lords are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly in possession of something illegal but are insulated from

11160-405: The raw material for most of the heroin consumed in the United States came from Indochina , then Turkey . Turkish farmers were licensed to grow opium poppies for sale to legal drug companies, but many sold their excess to the underworld market, where it was manufactured into heroin and transported to the United States. The morphine paste was refined in Corsican laboratories in Marseille, one of

11280-403: The real-life Lucas as "illiterate, vicious, violent, and everything Denzel Washington was not." Former DEA agents Jack Toal, Gregory Korniloff, and Louis Diaz filed a lawsuit against Universal, saying the events in the film were fictionalized and that the film defamed them and hundreds of other agents. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon . McMahon noted

11400-553: The run. Escobar was the boss of the famous Medellín Cartel , the most powerful drug empire to exist and is said to have had over twice the power and money of their rivals , the Cali Cartel . Pablo was known as Paisa Robin Hood , for his contributions to the poor, but was also known for murdering anyone who got in his way. His carrot-and-stick strategy of bribing public officials in the Colombian government, and sending hitmen to murder

11520-550: The time of his arrest, he had $ 207 million in cash and 18 million Mexican pesos in his house. He claimed that he was forced by Javier Lozano Alarcón , putatively identified as the Secretary of Labor, to keep it at his home and that this money would be used during Felipe Calderón 's presidential campaign in 2006. He is the legal representative of Unimed Pharm Chem México. The charges against him were dismissed with prejudice in August 2009 as

11640-629: The undisputed leaders of the Tijuana Cartel and developed an intense rivalry with Joaquin Guzman Loera 's Sinaloa Cartel . The war between both organizations lasted more than 10 years until Ramón was killed in Mazatlán on February 10, 2002, by policemen allegedly on the payroll of the rival , Sinaloa Cártel. Ismael Zambada García is a drug smuggler in Mexico and co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel . Mexico's top anti-drug prosecutor, José Santiago Vasconcelos , called Zambada "drug dealer No. 1" and said

11760-535: The world's cocaine. Rick Ross (born January 28, 1960), a.k.a. "Freeway" Ricky Ross, is a convicted drug-trafficker best known for the drug empire he presided over in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. The nickname "Freeway" came from Ross growing up next to the 110 Harbor Freeway . During the height of his drug dealing, Ross was said to have made "$ 2 million in one day." According to the Oakland Tribune , "In

11880-706: Was Daniel Kinahan, Christy's oldest son and also a head in the Kinahan Cartel, but ended up taking the life of another important member of the cartel, David Byrne (the son of James Byrne , the brother of Liam Byrne (a notorious lieutenant for Christy Kinahan), the cousin of Freddie Thompson and brother-in-law of Thomas Kavanagh (known as "bomber" ), a senior member in the Kinahan Cartel). Juan Raul Garza (November 18, 1956 – June 19, 2001) ran his own marijuana trafficking ring in Texas , Louisiana , Michigan , and Mexico , exporting thousands of kilograms of marijuana across

12000-470: Was a Chinese Drug Lord known for producing and trafficking over 18 tonnes of Methamphetamine. The amount Liu made was worth more than US$ 5 billion. He was arrested on March 5, 2005, sentenced to death on June 26, 2006, and executed on September 15, 2009. Shaheed " Roger " Khan (born 13 January 1972) is a Guyanese drug lord who is known for his money-laundering activities as well as his distribution and importation of substantial amounts of cocaine into

12120-651: Was a child, at the age of nine and currently serving a sentence of 234 years in prison for murder, drug trafficking and other crimes) is the current leader of PCC and commands this powerful crime syndicate from inside the Taubaté Prison , one of the most infamous prisons in Brazil. Under the command of Marcola, the PCC expanded its influence outside Brazil, to having a presence in Bolivia , Ecuador , Venezuela , Paraguay and Peru . The PCC

12240-468: Was a drug lady who operated between Miami and Colombia during the 1970s and 1980s. During the height of her operation, she smuggled nearly 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb) of cocaine into the U.S. every month through a network in south Florida. She was noted for her ruthlessness and use of extreme violence, employing tactics such as publicly assassinating people in broad daylight, bayoneting a rival trafficker inside Miami International Airport , and inventing

12360-684: Was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada . The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and was dismantled in the 1970s. It was responsible for providing the vast majority of the heroin used in the United States at the time. The operation was headed by Corsicans Antoine Guérini and Paul Carbone (with associate François Spirito ). It also involved Auguste Ricord , Paul Mondoloni and Salvatore Greco . Illegal heroin labs were first discovered near Marseille , France , in 1937. These labs were run by Corsican gang leader Paul Carbone . For years,

12480-569: Was arrested in 1990. Ramón Arellano Félix was a Mexican drug lord who was a founding member of the Tijuana drug cartel (a.k.a. the Arellano-Félix Organization) alongside his brothers. Arellano Félix was allegedly one of the most ruthless enforcers in the organization and was a suspect in various murders. He had been linked by Mexican police to the 1997 massacre of twelve members of a family outside of Ensenada, Baja California . The family

12600-477: Was arrested in Mexico in 2003 and deported to the U.S. in 2007, where he remains incarcerated to this day. Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, also known as Don Cholito, is a notorious Argentine-born, Puerto Rican and Colombian mixed drug lord from New York, who headed the 400 criminal organization, a dismantled secret cell of the Cali Cartel . Pulled into the drug trade at age 12, he left home at age 14 to begin working for his Father, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela , who headed

12720-560: Was born in 1946, and is the founder and former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel , the first Mexican Cartel ever established. He had strong ties with the Cali Cartel and Escobar's Medellin Cartel as he distributed drugs for them. He controlled almost all of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico–United States border in 1970s and the 80s. Until the end of the 1980s, Guadalajara Cartel headed by Félix Gallardo

12840-464: Was carrying 915 pounds (415 kg) of heroin. Drug arrests in France skyrocketed from 57 in 1970 to 3,016 in 1972. Also broken up as part of this investigation was the crew of American Mafia Lucchese family mobster Vincent Papa , whose members included Anthony Loria Sr. and Virgil Alessi . The well-organized gang was responsible for distributing close to a million dollars worth of heroin up and down

12960-470: Was caught and convicted of trying to exchange one ounce of heroin and $ 13,000 for one kilogram of cocaine. He received a sentence of seven years and was released from prison in 1991. In 2012, while living in Newark, he pleaded guilty to attempting to cash a $ 17,000 federal disability benefit check twice. Due to his advanced age and his poor health, which included his restriction to a wheelchair, prosecutors agreed to

13080-455: Was connected with the assassinations of numerous Mexican law-enforcement officials. Frank Lucas was a former heroin dealer and organized crime boss who operated in Harlem , New York during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle . Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, but this claim

13200-474: Was convicted a second time for drug offenses, and was released from prison in 1991. In 2012, he pled guilty to attempting to cash a $ 17,000 federal disability benefit check twice, and because of his age and poor health, received a sentence of five years' probation. Lucas was born and raised in La Grange, North Carolina , a suburb of Goldsboro, North Carolina , to Fred and Mahalee ( née  Jones ) Lucas, He said

13320-512: Was elected as the President of Honduras . While in office, the aforementioned politicians, may make corrupt appointments as quid pro quos. For example, a corrupt governor appoints a new police chief in a state police force , whom a drug lord can bribe, as a quid pro quo for helping him win a gubernatorial election. In some cases, corrupt politicians in office, who lack any previous ties to the drug lords, may also solicit or accept bribes from them. It

13440-460: Was from Goldsboro, North Carolina , and married to one of Lucas' cousins. Lucas is quoted as saying, "Ike knew everyone over there, every black guy in the Army, from the cooks on up." Atkinson, who was already running heroin for his own profit and had links to local opium growers, formed a partnership with Lucas. When interviewed for a New York magazine article published in 2000, Lucas denied putting

13560-696: Was later discovered to be an exaggeration. Federal judge Sterling Johnson , who was the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York at the time of Lucas' crimes, called Lucas' operation "one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever, an innovator who got his own connections outside the U.S. and then sold the narcotics himself in the street." Lucas trusted only relatives and close friends from North Carolina to handle his various heroin operations, believing that they were less likely to steal from him and be tempted by various vices in

13680-451: Was later murdered in federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia . Ultimately, the Guérini clan was exterminated during internecine wars within the French underworld. In 1971, Marcel Francisci was accused by the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics of being involved in the trafficking of heroin between Marseilles and New York City. On 16 January 1982, Marcel Francisci was shot to death as he was entering his car in

13800-429: Was made in New York on February 5, 1947, when seven pounds (3 kg) of heroin were seized from a Corsican sailor disembarking from a vessel that had just arrived from France. It soon became clear that the French underground was increasing not only its participation in the illegal trade of opium, but also its expertise and efficiency in heroin trafficking. On March 17, 1947, 28 pounds (13 kg) of heroin were found on

13920-522: Was one of the most powerful cartels in the world. He had a huge political involvement and bribed political authorities to protect himself and his business. After his capture in 1989 for the alleged murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena , Félix and allegedly the Mexican Government decided to divide up the trade he controlled as it would be more efficient and less likely to be brought down by law enforcement. Félix Gallardo instructed his lawyer to convene

14040-699: Was related to a drug dealer that had an unpaid debt to the Arellano Félix Cartel. On September 18, 1997, Arellano Félix was placed on the FBI's ten most-wanted list . In a sealed indictment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California , he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana. . Ramon and his brothers, primarily Benjamin Arellano Felix were

14160-514: Was smuggling morphine base from Beirut to Marseille. Narcotics agents had been seizing about 200 pounds (90 kg) of heroin in a typical year, but intelligence showed that the Corsican traffickers were smuggling in 200 pounds (90 kg) every other week. Rosal alone, in one year, had used his diplomatic status to bring in about 440 pounds (200 kg). The Federal Bureau of Narcotics 's 1960 annual report estimated that from 2,600 to 5,000 pounds (1,200 to 2,300 kg) of heroin were coming into

14280-769: Was the leader of the Mexican drug-trafficking organization known as the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel , which is headed by the Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos , Alfredo and Héctor . The cartel was engaged in cocaine, marijuana , heroin , and methamphetamine production, transportation, and wholesaling. It controlled numerous drug-trafficking corridors into the United States. and was also responsible for human smuggling , money laundering , extortion , kidnapping , murder , contract killing , torture , gun-running , and other acts of violence in Mexico. The organization

14400-579: Was very smart, because he made sure we used heavy guys' coffins. He didn't put them in no skinny guy's . . ." However, Atkinson, nicknamed "Sergeant Smack" by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has said he shipped drugs in hollowed-out furniture, not caskets. Whatever method he used, Lucas was able to smuggle narcotics through this direct link from Asia, thereby bypassing the Mafia's French Connection . Lucas said that he made $ 1 million per day selling drugs on 116th Street though this

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