Former drug smugglers and undercover cops share how drug trafficking actually works

2024-02-05 5,350

Pieter Tritton, a former cocaine smuggler, speaks with Business Insider about trafficking cocaine from Ecuador to Europe through a cartel connection. Tritton was arrested in Ecuador and sentenced to 12 years in one of the world's most violent and corrupt prisons.


David McMillan is a British Australian former drug smuggler. He trafficked heroin through Southeast and Central Asia. He was arrested numerous times between the '80s and 2012, and he estimates he trafficked over $17 million worth of heroin internationally. He is now an author and speaker on drug-policy reform.


Adi Jaffe was a crystal meth dealer in Los Angeles, purchasing his supply from local meth labs and making his way up to dealing with Mexican cartels. After leaving prison, Jaffe attained his doctorate degree in psychology. He now lectures at the University of California, Los Angeles, and runs a practice called IGNTD, which takes a unique approach to addiction recovery.


Shaun Attwood is a former drug smuggler who ran a successful ring trafficking MDMA pills in the US in the '90s. He was arrested in 2002 and served six years in US jails. Attwood published his life story as the "English Shaun Trilogy" and talks to audiences around the UK and Europe about prison reform.


Neil Woods spent 14 years as an undercover police officer infiltrating some of the most dangerous organized-crime groups in the UK. He speaks with BI about his experience with drug-dealing gangs and how the drug market works. Woods is now a board member of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, an American nonprofit.