1 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: It's the big take from Bloomberg News and I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: I'm West Gasova today the wild story of a container 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: ship carrying some unofficial cargo. Bloomberg investigative reporters Lauren Edar 4 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: and Michael Riley dug into this international tale of crime 5 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: and intrigue aboard that ship. It's called the Guyane. And 6 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm not going to give away any 7 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: more than that. Michael and Lauren sat down with me 8 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: to tell the story. Lauren got things started. She described 9 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: the Guyanne, the ship operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company or 10 00:00:49,960 --> 00:01:02,639 Speaker 1: m sc I. Guyane is one of the largest ships 11 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: sailing at sea today. It's a massive container ship that 12 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: is one of the many that bring goods all around 13 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: the world. The shipping industry is really the backbone of globalization. 14 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:24,119 Speaker 1: These are the behemoth vessels that send around the world. 15 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: Your tennis shoes, your microchips, anything, Any commodity or personal 16 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: item that you have today most likely sailed on one 17 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: of these ships, like the Guyanne. So in two thousand 18 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: and nineteen, the spring of two thousand and nineteen, the 19 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: Guyane was on its regularly scheduled route beginning in northern Europe, 20 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: in Rotterdam and antwer heading down to France, crossing the 21 00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean, hitting the Caribbean. After the Guyanne passes through 22 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: the Panama Canal and starts heading south along the South 23 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: American coast. That's when things aboard the Guyanne took a 24 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 1: different turn. One of the interesting things about MSc is 25 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: it has a very special relationship with crew members from 26 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: Montenegro and the Balkans in particular. Now, basically one of 27 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: the main industries in Montenegro is training, preparing and sending 28 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: off of its young men, mostly young men to see. 29 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: So it's got lots of universities, maritime universities and ports 30 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: and MSc just happens to be the largest employer of 31 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: Montenegron sailors in the world. And that presents a particularly 32 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: good opportunity for the Balkan Cartel, which is a major 33 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,239 Speaker 1: another major force if that industry in Montenegro, which is 34 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: organized crime. And what it allows is that the Balkan 35 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: Cartel can find these sailors that are on commercial ships 36 00:02:58,440 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: all of the world, but a lot of them on 37 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: ms ships and recruit them to do what they want 38 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: them to do, which is to help them smuggle cocaine 39 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: aboard these massive commercial container ships. One of the people 40 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: they find is a young man named Alexander Kobayah. And 41 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: Alexander is in a cafe at one point in Bar, 42 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: which is a small port town in Montenegro, and he 43 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: gets approached by a man he doesn't know who says, look, 44 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: here's the job we want you to do for us. 45 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: And Alexander is not naive about this. If you're in Montenegro, 46 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: you know how the system works. You know that organized 47 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: crime is everywhere. You know that that they use sailors 48 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: and recruit sailors to do this job. But he gets 49 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: approached and told this is the job that you're gonna do. 50 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: The man holds out a burner phone to him and says, look, 51 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: if you take this burner phone, do what we want 52 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: you to do. You'll get paid fifty thousand euros, which 53 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: is a huge amount even by a sailor salaries. Sailor 54 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: salaries in Montenegro are pretty good, but this is a 55 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: very large amount for somebody like a young man like Alexander, 56 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: and says you can take this, and if you don't 57 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: take it, your famili's in danger. Alexander takes the phone. 58 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: Alexander then boards the Guyanne and Antwerp and follows it 59 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic through the canal down the coast of 60 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: South America. So it's the Guyanne is off the coast 61 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: of South America. One night the phone rings, he answers it. 62 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: He's called up to the stern of the ship. When 63 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: he gets up there, there are several other people. Some 64 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: of them have a mask on. Some of the people 65 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: are crew members that he knows. What they're doing is 66 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: they're hauling up cocaine. There's a little bit of a 67 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: skull go fast boat bobbing alongside, and they're using a 68 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: small crane which is usually normally used to bring up 69 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: supplies for the crew. They're attaching the cocaine in these 70 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: nets and they're pulling it up the side of the 71 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: ship in these nets all the while the ship is 72 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: moving and the go fast boat is moving. Like logistically 73 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: tactic like this is a really tough thing to pull off. 74 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: They're pulling this cocaine off, They're swinging it around, putting 75 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 1: it on the deck. Once they get the cocaine up 76 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: onto the stern of the ship, they then start to 77 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: move it around into various containers on the ship. Getting 78 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: it into those containers, though they have to snip the 79 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: seals that are on the containers. They have to open 80 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: it up then the containers when they're a fully loaded 81 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: container ship. Keep in mind that a lot of these 82 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: containers are underneath the deck of the ship, so it's dark, 83 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: it's dank you're climbing down. These are not meant to 84 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: be opened or access when the ship is at sea, 85 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: but that's exactly what they're doing, and in fact, in 86 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: some cases they're sort of strapped in with these metal 87 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: straps and so the doors don't open all the way. 88 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: The crew had to have a guy small enough who 89 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: could crawl into the small space once they've opened the 90 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: containers doors, get into the container, and then help toss 91 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: the cocaine back to the back of the container or 92 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: up on top of whatever product was already in there. 93 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: After they had loaded the cocaine and these individual containers, 94 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: they had broken into them, so they had to kind 95 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: of cover their tracks and make it seem like everything 96 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: was normal, so that after they had bolt cutted the seal, 97 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: ripped open the door, and put it all back together. 98 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:25,039 Speaker 1: They also used welders to weld back any kind of 99 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: bent railings or anything. And they even used paint to 100 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: paint over any damage on the container. The reason they 101 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,039 Speaker 1: can do that is these are the guys who operate 102 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: the ship, right These are there, their electricians, their sailors. 103 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: You know, some guys are kind of level sailors who 104 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: were used to just move the cook around. But you 105 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: also had like the chief mate of the guyanne was 106 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: involved in the scheme. The great thing about having the 107 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: chief mate as part of the scheme is he controls, 108 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: for example, the schedule of the sailors. He can make 109 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: sure that he's got the right skill set of people 110 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: who are involved to do the job he needs. And 111 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: he also has access to a ton of information about 112 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: see what's called the load plan, like where the containers go, 113 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: where they're going to get off, where they're loaded in 114 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: the ship, what hold therein. He has all the necessary 115 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: information to pull this off. The guy in is coming 116 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: down the west coast of South America, it's stopp being 117 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: in Colombia and stop being at the port of Kiao 118 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: and Peru. It's going down the Chili and during the day, 119 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: what's going on is it's pulling into port. Containers are 120 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: coming off containers are going on pulls out of each 121 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: of these ports and begins to sail again. And in 122 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: that moment as it's transitioning into the open sea, is 123 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: when these loads of cocaine are put on, and they 124 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: do the seven times, both on the way down and 125 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: on the way up. So the Guyane again crosses through 126 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: this key juncture the Panama Canal, and it's now on 127 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: the other side of the continent in the Caribbean Ocean, 128 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: so it's starting to head north to its US destination. 129 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: It makes a stop in the Bahamas and and it 130 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: makes its way to Philadelphia, which is where it was 131 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: scheduled to stop and where it was going to unload 132 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: all kinds of things that it had gathered in South America. Now, 133 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: keep in mind that the Port of Philadelphia isn't the 134 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: largest port in the Eastern United States, but it's one 135 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: of the most important for very specific commodity, and that's 136 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: fresh fruits and vegetables. So Philadelphia had kind of been 137 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: a a way station really for a lot of the 138 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: broccoli and strawberries and asparagus, avocados that are coming from 139 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: South America and going into Philadelphia. The Port of Philadelphia 140 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: which has some very state of the art cold chain 141 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: logistics facilities for packing cold items. As a Guyanne is 142 00:08:55,480 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: approaching the mouth of the Delaware Bay, norm only what 143 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: would happen is the vessel would be met by a 144 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: riverboat pilot. This is a trained individual who knows how 145 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: to sort of navigate the shallowing waters of the canal 146 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: and the various movements of the tides and that type 147 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: of thing. As it's approaching the mouth of the Delaware Bay. 148 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: Instead of being met by a riverboat pilot, the guyane 149 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: is met by a helicopter and coast guard boats and 150 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: a bunch of law enforcement officers who immediately ascend the 151 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: ladder on the ship and board the Guyanne. By this time, 152 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: they already suspected that there were drugs on board. Immediately 153 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: when they bore the ship, they bring the crew of 154 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: the entire crew into the galley. So they brought their 155 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: own pilots and crew members on board who can sail 156 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: the ship. So all of the crew is in the 157 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: galley and they start to interview them, bringing them out 158 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: one by one and start talking to them. They get 159 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: the schematics of the ship, start figuring out where all 160 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: the containers are and start doing kind of a cursory 161 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: above board search of the ship. It's not immediately clear 162 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: when the law enforcement officers board the ship what's going on, 163 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: but one of the things that they do is they 164 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: swab the hands of the crew members to detect drugs, 165 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:30,599 Speaker 1: and multiple members of the crew come back with positive 166 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 1: cocaine showings. So very early on, the law enforcement officers 167 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: believed that there was cocaine on that ship. They just 168 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: had no idea where it was. Well as a seed, 169 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: they could only search the containers that were on deck. 170 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: But anyone who've seen one of these container ships fully 171 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: loaded nose that's a ton like these, they're stacked, you know, 172 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: many many containers high climbing up there looking for broken seals. 173 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: They're doing initial search as the ship is coming into 174 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: Philadelphia a You're about six to eight hours of doing this, 175 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: they decide to bring the Guyanne to port. They pilot 176 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: the ship up the river and it goes to Philadelphia's 177 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: Packer Marine Terminal. The Guyanne had four thousand containers on it. 178 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: This is a sea of shipping containers. And keep in 179 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: mind that these are large. They're twenty ft long and 180 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: They're packed with all manner of items. So when the 181 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: law enforcement officers start searching, at first they have no 182 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: idea where the cocaine is located. They're faced with this 183 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: enormous challenge of where the drugs stored, how are we 184 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: going to find them? And once they pull into the terminal, 185 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: they actually have a lot of resources waiting for them. 186 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: When we come back, the authorities starts searching the guy 187 00:11:54,520 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: On top to bottom. Lauren, you and Michael were obviously 188 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,560 Speaker 1: not aboard the Guy On when all of this was 189 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: going down. How do you know all this? We had 190 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:19,199 Speaker 1: access to all kinds of legal documents and court records 191 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: and transcripts that we used to piece together large portions 192 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: of this story. We also spoke with many current informer 193 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 1: law enforcement officers who described the events that took place, 194 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: as well as other maritime industry experts who shed light 195 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: on this particular operation. So the Guy On has now 196 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: been seized and it is in the port of Philadelphia. Lauren, 197 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: you mentioned that when the law enforcement authorities moved in 198 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: on the ship, they suspected that there was cocaine aboard. 199 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: Why why did they know that there was cocaine on 200 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: this ship? What made them target that ship. So that's 201 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: a long story. In fact, the law enforcement officers had 202 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: been actually interested in these large loads of cocaine that 203 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: we're moving from South America to Europe for quite some time. 204 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: So they had found cocaine aboard two MSc ships, one 205 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: in Newark, New Jersey and the other in Philadelphia before 206 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:35,719 Speaker 1: the Guyanne and had been piecing together how the traffickers 207 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: were in fact moving large loads of cocaine to Europe 208 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: through US ports, and so they had developed all kinds 209 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 1: of informations and sources, human intelligence sources, other methods that 210 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: they were able to use to piece together all of this. 211 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: So that's one of the reasons that they had the information. 212 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: Michael Lauren said that there had been two other U 213 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: s bus of MSc ships. So didn't that kind of 214 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: tip off the smugglers that there was danger in US ports? Yeah? 215 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: You think so. Um, it's really important to note that 216 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: cocaine doesn't come into the US on container ships. Cocaine 217 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: comes into the US for the US market overland through 218 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: Mexico and tunnels and trucks and cars. Cocaine goes to 219 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: Europe on container ships. Because that's really especially over the 220 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: last decade the most efficient way that you could get 221 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: it there. But that meant that from the U S 222 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 1: law enforcement point of view, this was kind of a 223 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: European issue. The drugs weren't coming to the US. The 224 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: ones on the Guyanne or any of these other ships, 225 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: they were going to Europe. But they started to notice 226 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: in seventeen as seizures were being done in Antwerp and 227 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: Rotterdam that if you track back the vessels that those 228 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: seizures were done on some of them, not a small number, 229 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: we're spending time in US waters, which meant that big 230 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: amounts of cocaine were flowing through US waters on their 231 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: way to Europe. The Homeland Security Investigations, which is a 232 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: unit of the Department Homeland Security, they took this as 233 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: an opportunity. So the drugs aren't coming here, but if 234 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: they're spending time in the US waters, they want to 235 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: figure out what's going on. So they start off with 236 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: the admittedly kind of misperception that this is being loaded 237 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: onto these ships in the traditional way. In other words, 238 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: it was being loaded and containers onshore in Peru and 239 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: Ecuador and Columbia. As the containers were impact or at 240 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: the port, and so they spent a lot of time, 241 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: months and months, trying to figure out which ports they 242 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: were being loaded on, who was doing the loading. Little 243 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: by little they realized that's not what was going on. 244 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: Something else was happening here, and that's when they begin 245 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: to sort of investigate the sailors and the possibility that 246 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: it was actually being loaded at sea by these fast boats. 247 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: They sort of lock onto that thesis and then began 248 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: to sort of follow this breadcrumb trail of clues and 249 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: began to sort of realize that there is something much 250 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: more sophisticating going on than they imagine. So they then, 251 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: as you say, like they their first seizure is in 252 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: February in Newark and it's the biggest bust to Newark 253 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: and like two decades or something like that. In April, 254 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: they do another bust in the port of Philadelphia. It's 255 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: a record Philadelphia bus. These are large amounts of cocaine, 256 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: but they're only getting out of one container. They don't 257 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: actually have a full idea of how this scheme is working. Now, 258 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: the question there's this interesting question like wouldn't that tip 259 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: off the traffickers to the danger, And they certainly tripped 260 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: off the traffickers that there was a problem. But traffickers 261 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: knew that there was some sort of leak in their organization, 262 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: but they didn't know where it was coming from. And 263 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: keep in mind, in both of those earlier busts, sailors 264 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: weren't arrested, and so they don't really know if they 265 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: got lucky and found the cocaine, if they have some 266 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: sense of really what's going on, and so they just 267 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: seemed to keep doubling down. The traffickers aren't oblivious to this, 268 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: but they don't really know where the problem is. So 269 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: they're running their loads. And in fact, one of the 270 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 1: theories about why the load of cocaine on the guy 271 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: and was so big is that they were these earlier 272 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: busts and they had to make up the cocaine that 273 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: had been lost to these earlier customers. So they just 274 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 1: kept building up bigger and bigger loads until you get 275 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,160 Speaker 1: one that's got twenty times of cocaine on. One thing 276 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: that I'd like to also mention is that the traffickers 277 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 1: build into their business model loss. They expect that they're 278 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: going to lose a certain percentage of their cocaine. It's 279 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: just seen as a cost of doing business. So now 280 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: the authorities are on board, they're questioning the crew, and 281 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: they're on the hunt for all this cocaine. How do 282 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: they try to find it? So when the guy in 283 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: pulls into the board in Philadelphia, there are more than 284 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:46,119 Speaker 1: a hundred agents on duck. They knew that ultimately to 285 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: get to the bottom of this, they were gonna have 286 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: to search an entire fully loaded cargo ship. Normally, the 287 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: way the cocaine is found in containers is it's as 288 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: the containers come off in their destination for it Antwerp 289 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: or Rotterdam, Orto, wherever it's going, they look for some signs, 290 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: they do a search, maybe they open up the container. 291 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: This was something entirely different. They were going to have 292 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: to search for the cocaine while the containers were still 293 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: on the ship, which meant you have to be prepared 294 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: to go into below deck, many layers down. They had dogs, 295 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: they had special equipment that could detect auction deprivation. For example, 296 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 1: they had special cameras. Because the containers weren't coming off, 297 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 1: so they could open them maybe a few inches. They 298 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: could put one of these special cameras and to see 299 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: if there was cocaine in there. They had teams. They 300 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: basically divided the search up by hold, so each team 301 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: would have a hold, and so the teams would go 302 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,360 Speaker 1: into the hole they searched the hold. The guy inne 303 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: pulled into the port Philadelphia about three o'clock in the morning. 304 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 1: By about six or seven am, they got their first 305 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: In other words, it took them about four hours of 306 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: that continued it's full all hand search before they found 307 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,199 Speaker 1: their first container of the head cocaine. So, after the 308 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: cops get their first hit of the cocaine, realize that 309 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: there's probably more on there because then they find it 310 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: in a second container. So at the time, the port 311 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: director Joseph Martella, it was supposed to be his day off, 312 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 1: and when they found the second container filled with cocaine, 313 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: they called him and told him and he immediately rushed 314 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: down to the port. So Martella makes the very unusual 315 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:32,639 Speaker 1: decision to basically pull off every single one of the 316 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: four thousand containers, take it off the ship, transported to 317 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: a scanning facility, and physically inspect every single one. This 318 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: is a gargantuan task. It is almost unheard of for 319 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: customs authorities or law enforcement officials. To remove every single container, 320 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: but they believe that there's more coke to be found. 321 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: So they're searching through the containers one by one, and 322 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: one by one the containers turn up even more cocaine. 323 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: After searching for hours and days, they ultimately locate cocaine 324 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 1: and seven shipping containers. They find fifteen thousand bricks of 325 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 1: cocaine that is valued at nearly a billion dollars. It 326 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: weighs nearly twenty tons. As the investigators and the law 327 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: enforcement officers are logging all of this cocaine, it's a 328 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: gargantuan task, right. They have to weigh fifteen thousand bricks, 329 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: they have to log each and every one of them, 330 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,120 Speaker 1: they have to put it into the evidence locker. They 331 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 1: have a lot of work that involves handling these bricks 332 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: of cocaine. And so at one point Martella kind of 333 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: looks around and there's dust in the air, and he realizes, 334 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: wait a minute, that's not dust, that cocaine, and so 335 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: he kind of instructs everybody to mask up, and just 336 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,479 Speaker 1: the sheer kind of weight of all of this was 337 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: dawning on them that they had found twenty tons of cocaine, 338 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: the largest amount in American history on a container ship. So, Lauren, 339 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: you described this incredible scene of unloading all this cocaine 340 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: and the dust in the air and everything else. Michael, 341 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: what did they actually do with all that cocaine? They'd 342 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: seized it, but you can't just kinda put it in 343 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: a loquer, that's right, And in fact, just the sheer 344 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: volume of it was like blew away all the sort 345 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: of normal handling procedures that they had. Even just to 346 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: get the cocaine from the port to Customs House when 347 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: the evidence locker is, they have to bring in the 348 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: Philadelphia swat team to sort of escort the multiple vans 349 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: full of cocaine because you don't, you know, it's a 350 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: billion dollars your movie. You don't want to lose any 351 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: of this stuff. When they get it there, they do 352 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: what they typically do in these big drug bus which 353 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:58,360 Speaker 1: is they take a picture of all of this cocaine 354 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: stacked up. But there's so much of it that the 355 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: cocaine filled this foy where they normally do the seizure pictures, 356 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: and ultimately they initially store it in the evidence fault 357 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,400 Speaker 1: in Customs House, but it was such a large amount 358 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: that they got permission to begin destroying it because there 359 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: just wasn't enough room to keep it. All. While all 360 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: this was happening, what was happening to the crew. So 361 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: in between the time they took the cocaine off the 362 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 1: ship and the crew members are facing their court sentences, 363 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: they are essentially held by law enforcement agents on the Guyanne. 364 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,879 Speaker 1: They're not leaving, they have not left the ship. There 365 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: being interviewed multiple times by law enforcement officers, sometimes over 366 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: and over again in order to try to kind of 367 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 1: match up stories and that type of thing. So for 368 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 1: about two weeks, the Guyane is just kind of in 369 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: the port of Philadelphia and it's being shuttled around a 370 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: little bit down farther downstream to make way for other 371 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: normal operating commercial ships. But there's a lot of law 372 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 1: enforcement activity that's still taking place on the ship as 373 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: they're trying to piece together the investigation and learn as 374 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: much as they can from each individual crew member. They 375 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: seized the boat, they got the cocaine. What next, We'll 376 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:30,919 Speaker 1: answer that when we come back, Michael. What does the 377 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: company that operates the guy in MSC's huge shipping company, 378 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: what do they say about all this? The first thing 379 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: they say is that they're a victim of this trafficking scheme. 380 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 1: They're not responsible for it. Like everyone admits that the 381 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: and concedes that MSc is not trafficking the cocaine. The 382 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: Balkan cartel, this very kind of brutal, very well organized 383 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: cartel in Eastern Europe, they're the traffickers. The question is 384 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: to what degree MSc should have could have been aware 385 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,479 Speaker 1: of what was going on and done more to stop it. 386 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: There's a lot of technical legal issues being fought out 387 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,639 Speaker 1: right now, basically around a couple of cases. One is 388 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: the US government seized not just that cocaine, they actually 389 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 1: seized the Guyanne itself. MSc puts down what the equivalent 390 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 1: of fifty million dollars in bail, and so the guyan 391 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: set sail not shortly afterwards. But the actual fate of 392 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: Guyane is still being argued in a civil case. The 393 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:34,919 Speaker 1: US government points out that it was MSC's employees who 394 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 1: were responsible for a big part of how the smuggling worked, 395 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: and it wasn't just the Guyane. That this had been 396 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: going on, not just on other MSc ships around the 397 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: same time. In fact, US authorities believe that even in 398 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: this period around at least four MSc ships were under 399 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,200 Speaker 1: the control of Vulcan cartel smuggling these massive loads in 400 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: the same way it was the MSc Avenue, the MSc Carlatta, 401 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: MSc Desiree, and MSc Guyanne, And the US government is saying, 402 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: you guys didn't have any sense that was this was 403 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: going on. They point out, for example, that the crew 404 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: members were having to manipulate the crane. For example, those 405 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: cranes at the stern of the ship have a weight 406 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: limit on them, and they would do searches of MSc 407 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 1: ships and they would find that the wire on the 408 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: safety device had been cut so that they could be 409 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 1: used to haul up more cocaine. That there were sort 410 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: of other indications that the MSc could have should have 411 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 1: had that something serious was going on. MSc at this 412 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 1: point they're not only claiming that they're innocent victims in this, 413 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 1: but they're basically going to dispute key elements of the 414 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: government's case, the main point of which is they're saying 415 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 1: that the cocaine wasn't actually loaded at sea. This is 416 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: a key legal point because to the extent that it's 417 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: loaded at sea and by MSc s crew. It puts 418 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 1: MSc in the legal cross here so speak. If if 419 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,400 Speaker 1: cocaine was loaded on shore somewhere up in the supply chain, 420 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,680 Speaker 1: the shipping company itself is much less responsible. Now. They 421 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: haven't come up with evidence to show this. What they've 422 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 1: done is dispute ute sort of. Elements have done their 423 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: own investigation. They hired a law firm to do a 424 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,159 Speaker 1: big investigation to look into this case, and they have 425 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: come up with inconsistencies and what they believe is the 426 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: way the government portrays events. Some of these containers could 427 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,600 Speaker 1: have been accessed while they were at sea, so there's 428 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: no way that cocaine could have gotten there. It's kind 429 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: of that on that level. There are some other stakes 430 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: to keep in mind here. So the fate of the 431 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: ship is kind of up in the air. But MSc 432 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: is also facing more than seven hundred million dollars in 433 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: penalties for the actual amount of cocaine that was found 434 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,959 Speaker 1: on not only the Guyanne, but also the car Lata 435 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 1: and the Desiree. This is a huge sum of money 436 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: that no company is going to be eager or willing 437 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: to pay without pushing back. You know, this is a 438 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: company that has kind of prided itself on being known 439 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: as a family run enterprise that really takes care of 440 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: its employees. So this is not the image that the 441 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 1: company wants out there that their ships have had this problem. 442 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,600 Speaker 1: Most of these proceedings are kind of happening behind closed 443 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: doors right now. The civil forfeiture case aspects of it 444 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: are currently under seal, and then the penalty case that 445 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: is before the Customs and Border Protection authorities. These are 446 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: traditionally non public proceedings. Where do you see this case 447 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: ultimately going and how long do you think it takes 448 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: to resolve it one way or another? I mean, these 449 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: types of cases can drag on for years, especially when 450 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: there is so much at stake. It's clear that U 451 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: S authorities are pursuing this investigation not only about the 452 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: culpability and the responsibility of MSc and the forfeiture and 453 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:51,359 Speaker 1: the penalties, but they're also very interested in trying to 454 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: figure out who's actually behind this massive cocaine smuggling ring. 455 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: MSc could settle, could result in a settlement. We just 456 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,880 Speaker 1: don't know exactly how it's going to unfold or how 457 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: long it might endure. So MSc is still a huge 458 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 1: company operating a lot of ships around the world. What 459 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: are they doing now? I imagine they're under a lot 460 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: of scrutiny. How are they making sure that they don't 461 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 1: get caught with another ship in a port full of drugs. Absolutely, 462 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 1: MSc is bending over backwards to portray themselves as a 463 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: leader in anti smuggling efforts, and in fact, they've taken 464 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: a lot of steps since the Guyane to kind of 465 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: change your ways or to take this threat of narco 466 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,959 Speaker 1: trafficking much more seriously. They've agreed to spend a hundred 467 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: million dollars on security upgrades on their ships and in 468 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: their facilities. They've already spent fifty million dollars just this 469 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: year alone in all kinds of security upgrades, including putting 470 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: live CCTV cameras on all of their ships so they 471 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: can be monitored remotely, um increasing technology on their containers, 472 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: deploying something called smart containers, which allow companies to better 473 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: track when a container is opened and say is that 474 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: opened at sea, which would be a red flag. They 475 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: have begun and really around the time of the Guyanne 476 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: had already started doing this, but using guards more often 477 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: on some of their ships, particularly the ships that are 478 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: transiting along South America and through the Panama Canal. Another 479 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: step that they've taken is they have said that they're 480 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: no longer going to use Montenegrin crew on ships that 481 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: sail to South America. Like, do we know whether the 482 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: Balkan cartel has kind of pulled back from putting cocaine 483 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: on ships because they are at all concerned that they're 484 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: gonna get seased? Now, what we know is that the 485 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: seizures of cocaine in ports and Europe major sort of 486 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: entryways Rotterdam and Antwerp continue to go up. After the 487 00:29:55,560 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: guy was again a record year was a rec or 488 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: the year it may go down a little bit this year. 489 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,200 Speaker 1: It's a little unclear, but as long as the market there, 490 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: the cartel is going to find ways to get cocaine 491 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: into Europe, the Balkan Cartel, but also other major traffickers 492 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: in Europe. Lauren, We started this story with Alexander Cavallah 493 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 1: being handed a cell phone and being told that it's 494 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: going to ring. Where is he now? Where are the 495 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: other members of the crew who were arrested and taken away. 496 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: Alexander is in federal prison here in the United States, 497 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: along with the other seven crew members who are arrested. 498 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: They all were sentenced to several years of prison and 499 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: that's essentially where they're going to be until they get out. UM. 500 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: Cavallah himself has sought an early release UM from a 501 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,480 Speaker 1: judge and was denied and so yes, so he's serving 502 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: out his time just like the rest of the seven 503 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,240 Speaker 1: crew members. Lauren and Michael. This is an amazing tale. 504 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: It must have been quite an adventure to report it. 505 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: Just want to ask you what was the thing that 506 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: sticks out in your mind most about this story. I mean, 507 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: so many things stood out to me as I was 508 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: reporting this story. I kind of embarked on this story 509 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: just kind of trying to figure out, well, whatever happened 510 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: to that nineteen Guyane case, and it turned out a lot. 511 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: I was surprised at really just how sophisticated the drug 512 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 1: smugglers were. And I really didn't know that much about 513 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: Montenegro as a seafaring nation, and that was one of 514 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 1: the most interesting and surprising things to me, is just 515 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: how dependent the shipping industry is on this labor pool 516 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: in this small country on the Adriatic Sea, and how 517 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: vulnerable that population really is right now, especially because of 518 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: the power of the Balkan cartel there and how much 519 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: way they have over this really critical labor pool that 520 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,480 Speaker 1: helps form the backbone of the global economy. For me, 521 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 1: it's like I was thought of the global shipping industry 522 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: as as a mooring. You know, it moves a lot 523 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 1: of goods. It's very important in the global economy, um, 524 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: and it just is out there. It's just you know, 525 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 1: you always see the connatorships and all our stuff. It's 526 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: moves around on them. What I realized doing this story 527 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: is organized crime has sort of figured out not just 528 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: the Balkan cartel and not just with cocaine, but organized 529 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: crime has figured out a wait to have piggyback on 530 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 1: this amazing logistical miracle that is global shipping to move 531 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,479 Speaker 1: all sorts of illicit goods, cocaine, different kinds of drugs, 532 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,600 Speaker 1: human beings. There is a lot of trafficing that goes on. 533 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: But that also means that ports and shipping companies and 534 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: terminals are really you know, in the middle of this 535 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 1: kind of gang land environment that the port of Cayao 536 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: and Peru. There was a series of assassinations of Stevedor's 537 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,600 Speaker 1: who were resisting the control of particular street gang who 538 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: ran the port. There's you know, policemen and customs officials 539 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: in Europe are being arrested for cooperating with organized crime. 540 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: There are assassinations going on in Amsterdam and in Belgium, 541 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: like these countries that you think of as these relatively 542 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,440 Speaker 1: peaceful societies. Import because of all of this sort of 543 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 1: capturing of the global shipping industry by organice crime that 544 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: I had no idea was out there. Laura Uttter and 545 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: Michael Riley, thanks so much for talking to me today. 546 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 1: Thanks for having us. Thanks. You can read the story 547 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: of the Guy on by Lauren Utter and Michael Riley 548 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: at Bloomberg dot com. Thanks for listening to us here 549 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: at The Big Take, the daily podcast from Bloomberg and 550 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:38,280 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Visit the I Heart Radio app, a podcast, 551 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:42,240 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen. Read today's story, and subscribe to 552 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: our daily newsletter at Bloomberg dot com slash Big Take, 553 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,719 Speaker 1: and we'd love to hear from you. Email us with 554 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: questions or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg dot net. 555 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: The supervising producer of The Big Take is Vicky Burgalina. 556 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Catharine Fink. Our producers are Moe 557 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 1: Barrow and Michael Falero. Hilda Garcia is our engineer. Original 558 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:11,880 Speaker 1: music by Leo Sidrin. I'm west Gsova have a great weekend.