Trafficking Billions in Drugs: Computer Tech Outsmarts Federal Surveillance to Become Filthy Rich

The first installment of this two-part series, NewsBlaze True Crime Series delves into the sophisticated operation by a well-educated computer technician to enlist shady pilots for the clandestine transportation of large quantities of illicit drugs from overseas into Mexico and subsequently the same drugs entered the U.S.

Exploiting severe weak spots in security practices at private airports, where there is an absence of traditional transportation security checkpoints, the computer tech managed to orchestrate a lucrative operation while evading the scrutiny of federal agents.

Moreover, the narrative sheds light on the privileged immunity enjoyed by private airport proprietors in the United States who are shielded from routine screenings and personal searches by law enforcement authorities.

In a recent feature article published by the Louisville Courier, a reporter gave an exclusive backstory about Robert Walter Carlson, a prosperous businessman who mingled with prominent figures in Hollywood circles, a man aspiring to become the preeminent figure in facilitating illicit drug trafficking by using expensive airplanes and luxury jets.

Carlson’s single-handed goal was to become the “Cocaine King of the Skies.” The term “cocaine king of the skies” refers to a daring and notorious drug trafficker. Robert Carlson was known as such in the narco circles of “Who’s, Who’s.”

Resourceful and astute, Carlson, a California-based computer tech, strategically utilized private jets to conduct drug smuggling operations for the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel. Operating in the shadows, teetering on a tightrope to avoid the DEA or other federal agencies, Carlson identified and exploited vulnerable loopholes in the surveillance systems of federal authorities.

By forging connections with highly skilled pilots eager to make big money in the dope game, Carlson orchestrated the transportation of narcotics via private jets to highly discreet and less monitored private airfields and landing strips across the United States.

These locations were picked for a sinister reason: private landing airports lacked thorough inspection protocols, such as searches by law enforcement or K-9 units, and the lack of formal identification needed for aircraft landing.

Private Aircraft Charters Highly Favored By Traffickers

The frequent use of private aircraft charters by drug smugglers is attributed to the strict security checks by TSA at commercial airports. Due to the excellent job that security is doing screening passengers at commercial airports, traffickers have begun to distribute drugs and cash aboard private aircraft. Because the government seizes drug-packed aircraft when the pilots are apprehended, drug traffickers prefer to use charter aircraft. Since no one examines their luggage and there are rarely any screenings, the number of private planes chartered for drug trafficking is probably going to rise.

According to an article by Beth Warren in the Journal, private and secondary airports aren’t required to offer the same level of safety assurance as major airports.

Motivated by the allure of having everything a person could want and possessing first-class status in a game where the stakes are as high as the sky, Robert Carlson’s goal in life was to sit on a mountaintop of wealth making “lots of crazy money” in the narco game.

No More Computer Tech Work

When Robert Carlson stopped working as a computer tech and started running drugs, he persuaded his friends to help. Between March 2014 and April 2017, together they trafficked about 1,680 kilograms of cocaine, 2,050 pounds of marijuana, and 40 pounds of methamphetamine – and between $500 million and $1 billion of cash in drug proceeds-for the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel. The gig ended when Carlson got caught and turned in his co-conspirators.

Carlson collaborated closely with the Sinaloa Cartel for three years until an undercover ‘Rat’ exposed the large-scale domestic air smuggling operation headed by Carlson as the ringleader.

“In this case, we arrested the rich, the elite, and privileged people exploiting this method of travel,” Northern Kentucky Homeland Security Investigator(HSI) Michael Romagnolia told reporter Beth Warren.

Federal Court Proceedings

According to documented evidence from federal court proceedings, as detailed through conversations with prosecutors and law enforcement officials involved in Carlson’s case, the overall scheme highlighted critical security issues throughout a vast majority of the United States’ 2,500 general aviation airports.

Notably, these airports lack Transportation Security Administration-operated checkpoints, underscoring potential gaps in safety and security protocols.

Retired Homeland Security Agent-Investigator and the “godfather” of airplane smuggling cases, Kenneth Martinson, said the responsibility of monitoring private aircraft “falls through the cracks.”

“When you next see one in the sky, ask yourself, ‘Where is it going? When did it arrive; what’s it’s carrying? There’s a good possibility they are carrying illegal drugs,” Martinson told the reporter. Retired Houston-TX narcotic officer Abe Vanderberry said in the past officers faced Fourth Amendment challenges when drug dealers used private aircraft to unload narcotics on the property of a private airstrip.

“Most times we’d wait until the pickup guys drive onto the city streets with the dope then we busted them,” Vanderberry said, explaining how his team bypassed the privacy issues. “Another way is when federal agents run the tail number on the aircraft to see if the numbers registered with FAA to fly a particular flight,” Vanderberry added. “If the plane isn’t registered to fly a flight with FAA but it landed on a private landing strip some agents will enter the property anyway without a warrant based on the FAA violations.”

Federal Government TSA

TSA (Transportation Security Administration) was established following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and its primary mission is to ensure the safety of commercial flights departing from any of the nation’s 440 major airports, including those served by Delta and American Airlines.

The TSA reports to the police any incidents when narcotics are discovered during passenger checks. Another recurring problem is the fact, that TSA lacks resources to screen for illegal narcotics and other contraband at many smaller airports. To work toward stemming the overflow of narcotics arriving by aircraft owned by private citizens, the TSA released guidelines on security measures, but these guidelines don’t have the biggest bite to make the security measures overly effective.

In 2002, the TSA and the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association joined forces to launch a hotline, 1-866-GASECURE, to encourage ground staff, airport managers, and pilots to report suspicious activity or evidence of drug trafficking. Since 2018, the service has received thousands of calls, according to a TSA official.

Nonetheless, most secondary airports that handle the approximately 200,000 general aviation aircraft operating in the US-which account for almost half of all private aircraft worldwide-do not have adequate security protocols. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dmitriy Slavin briefed an Eastern Kentucky judge in Carlson’s case on the dangers.

“There will be “zero” inspection of your bags, he assured me. You board, you cross across, and you disembark. You’re the drug courier. That’s a major issue because it happens frequently and is hard to prevent due to the size of the airports involved.”

Robert Carlson Transported At Least $60 Million in Dope Money From Atlanta to California

According to Thor Whitmore, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigation in Atlanta, Carlson transferred $60 million in narcotics earnings from Atlanta to California in just four months of 2017.

“And that’s just outside of Atlanta,” he added. Another investigator explained succinctly, “The Carlson case was a big eye-opener.”

“I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks, and boats,” Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, better known internationally as El Chapo told Rolling Stone magazine in 2016. The world’s biggest drug kingpin wasn’t blowing smoke. His Sinaloa cartel owned more aircraft than Mexico’s largest airlines. For example, according to El Universal newspaper, until 2016, the country’s military seized 599 aircraft from El Chapo’s criminal organization while Mexico’s biggest airlines owned only 127 at the time. The U.S. federal government discovered El Chapo once owned several 747 Boeings. Robert Carlson earned a key player’s spot in El Chapo’s worldwide drug empire.

El Chapo Once Owned More Aircraft Than Mexico Airlines: Source:(HSI) Homeland Security Investigations

Private Airlines Smuggle Tons of Drugs & Billions of Dollars Without Much Intervention

Law enforcement authorities said that the majority of illicit drugs are clandestinely transported across the nation in packages, vehicles with false bottoms, food, and vegetable trucks, smaller trailers, in the cabs of 18-wheelers, or hidden inside normal-size trucks. Investigators routinely focus their investigative efforts on key transportation routes and scrutinize mail facilities.

Notably, closer attention is directed toward identifying drug trafficking activities near the Mexican border. In stark contrast, the transportation of narcotics via private flights largely evades detection by law enforcement agencies.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment exposed an increasing trend of drug traffickers using private airplanes and secondary airports with less oversight. This change is due to the growing difficulties of smuggling cocaine via major commercial airports.

Additionally, the DEA report emphasizes the common use of private planes to transport marijuana from areas where it is legal into states where it is not. This method of inter-state transportation using private aviation is an important issue highlighted in the agency’s alert.

Aircraft Drug Smuggling First Recognized by Agents During the 1970s

The Carlson private plane drug ring stands out as one of the biggest operations going back to when the 1980s exploits era captured the ‘private planes’ smuggling narcotics in the popular television series “Miami Vice,” as noted by federal agent Thor Whitmore.

In response to increased policing of drug flights during the 1990s, traffickers shifted their focus to smuggling contraband on land. During recent years narco agents have witnessed a resurgence in drug-related investigations involving private aircraft.

Despite a wealth of intelligence on the matter, investigators lacked substantial manpower to curb the flow of drugs by private jets, even as the nation grapples with its most severe drug crisis to date. Experts attribute the problems to the shortage of security personnel and a prevailing culture within the affluent jet-owning community that discourages scrutiny.

For example, over an extended period, decision-makers have been embroiled in debates over the most effective methods to screen passengers for explosives, narcotics, and other prohibited items without compromising the privacy or convenience of upscale travelers.

Private Aircraft Owners Reject Federal Scrutiny

A 2009 Congress think tank report said the Congressional Research Service, described having tense debates over enforcing limits on private aircraft owners as “highly contentious.”

“That’s what attracts people to either owning their aircraft or chartering a private plane, to avoid scrutiny because it’s a hassle,” said Whitmore.

“They don’t have to wait in a large line to be searched.”

Some legislators own airplanes while others are regular flyers in private aircraft. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is the largest aviation organization in the world, with over 330,000 members, and the association has powerful lobbies advocating on behalf of pilots and the general aviation industry.

Freedom is prioritized over confinement.”The AOPA is the NRA of flying,” former HSI investigator Martinson declared. They have a strong voice, and it is heard.

Cartels Recruited White Men and Women

Mexican Cartels Aggressively Recruited White Men and Women to Traffic Drugs Because Whites Don’t Attract Much Police Attention.

A high-profile case like then-50-year-old Robert Walter Carlson, Jr. demonstrates how a criminal exploits security loopholes at private secondary airports nationwide. Carlson’s goal was to make life bigger and bigger.

Carson bought a $8 million mansion where he entertained Hollywood’s finest and a scarlet Ferrari after the money started flowing like the Mississippi River. Carlson claimed to be friends with and lived next door to well-known actor Dick Van Dyke. That being said, Carlson’s lavish lifestyle was unsustainable considering his occupation as a computer networking specialist.

He created a novel idea in 2014 to use private aircraft to carry marijuana from Northern California, according to federal records obtained by The Courier-Journal. One of the biggest gangs in Mexico is the Sinaloa group, and he came across a drug dealer connected to them.

Carlson reasoned that carrying cocaine would increase his earnings and lower his chances of being discovered, as opposed to hauling larger-size luggage full of smelly cannabis. He wanted his contact to speak highly of him so he could have access to the cartel’s leaders in Mexico. To make it happen, Carlson wore a blindfold, but the man assured him he would be safe.

Following many police stings along major trafficking routes in the US, particularly Interstate 10 between Florida and California, the cartel started looking for alternative routes to ship cocaine and other narcotics. Drug cartels are very interested in American citizens, and a “gringo” (a white man) who can blend in with the jet-set crowd or stand alone was especially needed to draw less suspicion.

Story to Continue: Part 2: Robert Carlson’s Master Plan

NewsBlaze Senior Crime Reporter Clarence Walker can be reached at (email protected)