Reefer Men: The Rise and Fall of a Billionaire Drugs Ring
Reefer Men: The Rise and Fall of a Billionaire Drugs Ring
by Tony Thompson
Hodder & Stoughton, HK$313
A glance at the back cover of Reefer Men suggests that this is yet another blockbuster thriller: multinational, smoke-and-dagger cops and robbers in pursuit of multimillion-dollars' worth of marijuana. Then you realise it's labelled 'True Crime'.
As dope became a hip, rather than hippie, recreational drug for many in the US in the 1970s, so demand began to exceed supply. Tastes became more refined, with Thai hash outstripping the Mexican and Lebanese to become the gold standard. It wasn't too long before smuggling rings, as sophisticated as any express delivery company but operating rather more covertly, were shipping sizeable tonnages from Asia to the US, much to the disgruntlement of the authorities and the joy of their customers.
Tony Thompson has done a neat job with the story of the Ring, a loose collateral of colourful drugs lords who made (and often lost) millions over two decades. Malleable officials were bribed, honest policemen duped, impoverished shipowners suborned, dubious lawyers briefed - all in the interests of getting America high and accruing the wealth that exceeded even the smugglers' wildest fantasies.
It wasn't all plain sailing, and there were some humorous moments in between the drug-fuelled derring-do. One gang planned to launder its ill-gotten gains in Switzerland, chartering a private jet to carry boxes of used banknotes declared on the manifest as computer equipment. A zealous customs inspector opened one of the boxes, and acidly pointed out that although currency could be brought in freely, strict regulations adhered to importing electronics. When the long arm of the law finally caught up with one of the most experienced marijuana smugglers, he ruefully admitted he'd spent most of his profits on cocaine. Another crook who shipped dope into San Francisco in broad daylight aboard a speed boat was so proud of his ingenuity that he hired a helicopter-borne camera crew to film its arrival.