Narco Wars
The Gripping Story of How British Agents Infiltrated the Colombian Drug Cartels
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Narco Wars
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Narrated by:
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Jonathon Keeble
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By:
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Tom Chandler
About this listen
Tom Chandler arrived in Bogotá at the height of the cocaine boom. Pablo Escobar lay dead, the Cali Cartel had taken over much of the global supply and an avalanche of coke was poised to hit Europe. Now the British government wanted Chandler and his team to do the impossible: infiltrate the most powerful crime syndicates on earth and stop their drug shipments.
It was a perilous assignment. The cartel bosses operated like a lethal multinational, with armies of hit men and myriad spies in ports, airports, police stations and government offices. Their intelligence systems flushed out turncoats and traitors, and they ruthlessly exterminated their enemies. Yet Chandler, an HM Customs investigator fluent in Spanish, knew he could succeed only by recruiting local informants and went out into the field to find them. Within four years he had a network of 50 agents buried deep inside the trafficking organisations. The result was unprecedented. Their intel led to the arrest of hundreds of narcos and to the seizure of 300 tonnes of drugs, worth a staggering $3 billion.
Chandler's web disrupted the Bogotá mafia, who controlled the main airport and boasted they could put anything on a plane, from drugs to bombs; penetrated the go-fast crews who raced coke-laden speedboats to the transit station of Jamaica; dismantled the 'rip-on' teams who smuggled through the coastal ports; and identified the so-called motherships, the largest method of bulk transit ever discovered.
He faced appalling risks. Treacherous stool pigeons worked for both sides, and some of his Colombian law-enforcement colleagues were abducted, tortured and killed. Chandler too faced a grave threat when the crime lords learned he was responsible for a string of interdictions. Yet he persisted, driven to continue with the greatest series of sustained seizures ever made, until he finally burned out and his tour of duty came to an end. Two of his best sources were subsequently murdered, and his bosses dropped the entire overseas informant programme, with dire consequences.
Narco Wars is an unflinching story of danger, fear and stress and of the tradecraft and unsung heroism of the agents and their handlers.
©2018 Tom Chandler (P)2019 W. F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Narco Wars
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- stuart
- 13-01-20
interesting view into the world of drugs
good book. nice detail as far as he could. gives a good view into a world we would normally not see
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- dave h
- 21-10-20
Excellent read
great insight into what our drug enforcement teams working home and abroad had to endure throughout their daily lives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Carolyn W.
- 16-09-24
Great book
Great narration, easy to follow. The reader takes you on a narco journey from the perspective of an agent. Well worth a listen
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- SteveA
- 26-08-20
Great take on reality of the drug trade
Chose this for the real story after watching 'Sicario', to get a factual take on the drug trade, and Tom delivered. a shame the producer thought a (seemingly forced?) Northern accent was the right approach however. But if you want a realistic take from someone who's been closer than most, this is it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Thomas
- 25-10-24
Outstanding viewpoint
One hears so little of this type of work, we're more likely to be informed by works of fiction, but this is a true eye opener. The conclusion should be respected, given the decades and lives spent developing it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nick Anderson
- 08-09-21
wow!
Really enjoyed the performance and narration, calm, considered and warm.
I've read dozens of books on the cartel violence, the undercover infiltration of either cartels or rhe law enforcement organisations, this stands aloft taking the detail of the logistic routes and role of confidential informants to all new levels.
The epilogue couldn't be more accurate, prohibition is the real problem. education decriminalisation, taxation and healthcare are the fixes.
The war on drugs is costly in so many ways... and it'll never win.
Also read "chasing the screams"... its linked and outstanding.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Nj3vans
- 12-11-21
very interesting insight
a very interesting and revealing understanding of what it was like to work in HMRC battling drug smuggling and the sacrifices made. worth a read. I take my hat off to gentleman such as Tom for putting themselves out there in their professions for the greater good of society.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andy Haney
- 01-09-22
alternative view on drug smuggling
great listen. real eye opener and alternative view of drug trafficking from South America
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- Anonymous User
- 23-08-24
Mind blowing
Tom chandler along with the narrator and every other member of the team who made this possible I thankyou outstanding listen best audiobook I’ve ever listened too
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Richard
- 11-12-20
Gripping and incredible granular detail A+++
I absolutely loved this book. Having watched the Netflix Narcos series this is incredibly more graphic and complex than the series, giving astounding detail from the horses mouth in terms of the cat and mouse battle to infiltrate and stop global drug trafficking, and all the associated collateral damage. Brilliant narration and really took me on his journey. loved it!
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