A bit of a story at times - thanks NYtimes - but a good read nonetheless. I especially love the drug traffickng infographic.
Take the opening paragraph with a grain of salt. That's just some fucking storytelling. The real reason the guy got on radar and eventually busted is much more reasonable:
- Unbeknown to the task force in New York, a separate team from the drug agency had around that time started a sting operation against money launderers working with Mexican drug cartels. That fall, for instance, an undercover agent posing as a cartel financier had persuaded Mr. Racine, Mr. Cournoyer’s New York manager and one of his closest partners, to give him $94,000 in marijuana profits, promising to reinvest — and cleanse — the money through the purchase of cocaine.
2007/08 was when the DEA was on their shit - they busted up a ton of operations down in Mexico and threw the cartels off their stability. 2008 was when the cartels were all over the map fighting for power rather than relying on a very stable drug trade / trafficking. This is also when they said "dont travel to mexico" and "be careful around the border" because the young bucks that were taking over operations were kidnapping white American girls. lulz
Also, apparently some big time drug dudes forgot that it's no longer 1997
