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Game of Crimes

221: Part 2: Randy Wagner – An inside look at the global drug war 🔥

Game of Crimes

Game of Crimes

True Crime

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Murph continues talking with Randy Wagner about building trust with local law enforcement partners to leading complex investigations overseas. Randy’s stories reveal the grit, intelligence, and courage behind the badge. His time in Turkey offers a rare look at how cultural immersion and international cooperation drive successful operations — and how accountability within law enforcement keeps integrity strong.

The conversation also explores the shocking shift in Afghanistan’s drug trade, where poppy fields are being replaced by meth labs. Randy exposes the motivations, misconceptions, and global ripple effects of this transformation — a chilling reminder of how fast organized crime adapts.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I used to see out a lot and it just bothered me the bravado that he had.

0:05.0

Nothing was bothering him in the world and I'm like, he doesn't know it, but I'm going to wreck that.

0:09.0

But to your point, I like to mix things up and try things different.

0:12.0

I went out and knocked on his doors.

0:14.0

I told him flat out, hey, I'm here because I know what you do.

0:18.0

This is your opportunity before things go sideways for you to really help yourself out and come to Jesus, so to speak.

0:25.6

He kept telling me, I don't know what you're talking about.

0:28.5

I said, Rod, this is your time because I'm going to get you.

0:31.9

I had a decent case on them.

0:33.2

I did not have enough to indict or arrest at that time, but I was looking for a CS in this organization.

1:06.3

That judgment day always comes. A couple weeks later, I got a call from our office in Indianapolis saying, hey, do you know Rod so-and-so? They're like, well, he's here right now. We popped him with 250 pounds of wheat. And I'm like, cool. Hey, guys, welcome back to part two of this week's episode with Randy Wagner.

1:10.6

Thank you guys so much for coming back. We kind of left you hanging yesterday where Randy and his wife had just transferred to Santa Rosa, California out of Honolulu, where it was a really tough assignment. But, you know, thank you for taking one for the team there, Randy. Of course. But we left you hanging because I want you to come back today

1:28.5

and hear the rest of the story, right? So, and that's what we're going to get into now, the rest of

1:33.6

Randy's career, not only with DEA, but what he got into afterwards. So as we spoke yesterday,

1:41.1

Randy, you guys had just transferred out of Honolulu. You're in Santa Rosa.

1:44.9

You're now the resident agent in charge, which for those of us that are, those of you out there that are not familiar with that, that's a first line supervisor within DEA.

1:53.5

We have a group supervisor and we have a resident agent charge.

1:57.2

And the difference is they're the same rank.

2:00.0

It's just that a rack or the resident agent in charge is in an office away from the

2:05.3

division office.

2:06.3

So he's the senior agent in that office.

2:09.3

There's not an assistant special agent charge, which would be the next step up.

...

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