The names of the greatest cannabis smugglers in history are known by all of us. We heard many barbarisms, we've seen films, documentaries that seemed to be science-fiction... And lately we even got hooked by some criminal drama series. But... What's up with cannabis smugglers?
There are not many smugglers that decide working just with cannabis, specially when the business starts to get big. Even though, there are also some celebrities in cannabis smugglers. Guys who buildt large imperiums, moved millions of dollars, had a movie life, found the glory and then hit the ground. Today we bring you our TOP 5 cannabis smugglers, gangs or comunities that, due to its popularity, or simply because we find some epic history about them, have been added to our ranking.
Cannabis Smugglers TOP 5
1- Howard Marks " Mr Nice"
It could not be another one, our number one is reserved to the most famous, charismatic, and reputed cannabis smuggler. Nicknamed Mr Nice due to its pacific will, he almost controlled a 10% of the world's cannabis traffic, and transported, in example, 30 tones of thai weed in one shipment. He made business with organizations like IRA, Yakuza or even the italian Mafia, worked for MI6, collaborated with CIA... And all of it, as he pressumed, without causing a single blood drop nor being involved, never, in hard-drugs smuggling. About 30 million dollars benefit were assigned to him, in addition to more than 40 nicknames, 80 phone lines, 25 corporations, in-between there was a bank used for money laundering all over the world.
After being seized in Mallorca in 1988, 7 years in prison from the 25 he was condemned, he wrote a biography, that became a Top Seller, and later on a film about he's life was produced. He jumped onto stages, with a comic show, he made a collaboration with Shantibaba in Mr Nice Seed Bank; and also toke part in the United Kingdom parliament with some groups for cannabis legalization. Unfortunately, he passed due to cancer in 2016, when he was 70.
Curiosities: Marks was chosen Entertaining Officer when he studied in Oxford, so he was responsible of hiring music bands for the May Ball of new year's eve. This way is how he stepped into the music business. He was one of the first to discovers bands like Kinks, and he also shared a fat with Van Morrisson. In the meanwhile, he realized that music band's equipment was not checked in airports as all other luggage. And this is how he began smuggling from UK to USA. " Some bands traveled with 3 equipment containers" declared in an interview; "A lot of drugs can be hide there".
2- Brotherhood Of Eternal Love
In the 60s, pacifism, and love were strong on United States' society. The hippie movement was all around, up to the point were a group of delinquents left behind their violent past to hug God, fraternal love, and drugs. Leaded by its founder John Griggs, and by their guru, Timothy Leary (a psichologist enthusiast of psicodelia), the BOEL's purpose was to teach the world more about God. And God was accessed through Christ, Buda, Ramakrishna, Babaji, Paramahansa Yogananda, Gandhi and "all prophets and apostles of God", besides LSD and cannabis, which were the medium to spirituality. The love for cannabis convert them in one of the biggest narco-traffic organizations worldwide. Their net began in California and extended to the south through Mexico, Panama and Colombia, arriving to Orient: passing through Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Thailand... From where they exported the best hash, and all those exotic cannabis indica strains that ease the access to trance.
Curiosities: Did you know that surf boards used by those hippies to ride waves in the West Coast were the same used to hide drugs?
It is known that the decumentary Rainbow Bridge (highly recommended), presented in 1972, was key for DEA to open their eyes and jump into the organization. In that film, where Jimi Hendrix appeared, they showed how BOEL members consumed cannabis and LSD in industrial quantities, as well as they fill surf boards and volkswagen vans with large amounts of cannabis.
3- Michael "The Fox" Forwell
Supplier of huge part of the weed arrived to USA during the 80s decade, Michael Forwell was as smoothy that won the nickname of "The Fox". He was english, had a good education, rejected violence... Probably didn't look like a smuggler. Even though, in the 80s he had many nickames, dodged authorities, and earned millions of dollars. The Fox turned into the classic example of smuggler who had everything: fast cars, luxury boats, a night club in Bangkok, properties all over the world... And he lost everything. He's adventures, attention to details, and a never-ending surreal ideas to introduce cannabis from southern asia, made The Fox a worthy winner of 3rd place in our cannabis smugglers ranking.
Delfine II, super luxury yacht that belonged to Michael Forwell.
Curiosities: Once the organization Forwell leaded, pretended to smuggle cannabis from Singapur. The idea was to hide it in aquariums. Forwell demanded those aquariums were made with crystal, and the fishes used were real, what was actually a success. The load passed all controls bringing tones of weed to the States.
He created a fake F1 team, called Fast Lane. The chasis of the F1 was real but the engine, transmission and tyres were loaded with drugs. It was used by cannabis smugglers between Asian south-east and Australia.
Forwell demanded loyalty. Once he suspected someone in the organization was diverting money. he grouped all the gang, and throw a box full of money to the ocean, screaming that all that money was nothing compared with the expected loyalty from members.
Finally, we he got busted, driving a boat transporting cannabis grown in Camboya and Laos, police discovered the seats were filled with dollars, besides the rear of the boat, that was half the size of a soccer field, was full of weed. It is said that all the weed busted was burnt, and the quantity was that large that it took some days to burn it all.
4- Jamaican Coptic Christian Church
Without any doubt, this group deserves to appear in our top 5 green narcos. This church, that follows the Ethiopian coptic rite, has the perticularity of saving a relationship with rastafari movement that flowered in Jamaica in 1970s. The believe of coptics are common in any fundamentaist christian organization, but with one exception: they believe cannabis is their sacrament. So, for them cannabis is a spiritual sign that God is in soul, and causes grace. That's why all their members, included kids, smoke cannabis daily.
In 1975, the church expanded from Jamaica to the State of Florida, and that caused a massive operation of cannabis exporting. During that decade the church turned into the biggest land owner in Jamaica, and gave work to a high percentage of their locals. Marijuana was the main source of incomings for the country, until in 1979 was pointed, judged and condemned as cannabis smugglers from Jamaica to Miami.
Curiosities: In an interview with United States, the then Jamaican prime minister, Edward Seaga, declared: "It's only a small amount of sinsemilla".
5- Everglades City
Everglades City is a small fishermen village in the West Coast of Florida, that, back in the 80s, had only 500 residents. Its landscape, formed by a labyrinth of mangroves and islands, is suitable to record scenes of boat persecutions and, during the 80s was an ideal place to smuggle millions of dollars of cannabis.
We could say Everglades has always been a blind spot for authorities of Florida State. In the early XX century they smuggled with animals with danger of extinguish, later when the drought law, the rom was the main product to smuggle. When in the 70s the government declared ilegal the haunting in the area, the many economic activity, large part of their residents were forced to become cannabis smugglers. The unique geography, together with the fact that only locals knew how to sail through it, make it hard for the force authorities, so the coasts of Everglade turned in the incoming spot for large quantities of mexican and colombian marijuana to the USA. Finally the DEA organized a huge operation there and executed two big incursions in the 83 and 84, what the ended up with the cannabis smugglers organization.
Curiosities: In the 80s, Everglade's population was constituted by 5 families, so almost all residents shared blood links. The DEA raid meant the arrest of almost 80% of adult male population in the area.
25 years later, after being jailed, Everglade citizens still defend cannabis was their way to survive, non causing any harm to anybody. "Infact, we were only kids running naked with no shoes, we didn't had weapons nor shot anyone" McBride declared, ex-smuggler and author of an autobiography called "Saltwater Cowboy: The Rise and Fall od a Marijuana Empire".
Sources
Square Grouper: the Godfathers of Ganja
If you liked this post help us promoting cannabis activism and give us a Like.
If you thought this article was interesting maybe the you are also interested in the following ones:
