227: Part 1: Mike Chavarria – Inside the DEA’s Biggest Drug Wars

Game of Crimes

True Crime

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this gripping episode, Murph sits down with Mike Chavarria, a U.S. Navy veteran and former DEA Special Agent with more than 30 years of frontline experience in America’s war on drugs. From covert operations to high-stakes international investigations, Mike pulls back the curtain on the real-life battles fought by federal agents—far beyond what you see in movies or TV shows.

Mike shares behind-the-scenes insights from one of the DEA’s largest operations ever, including his role in legendary missions like Operation Snowcap and Operation Band of Brothers. The conversation dives deep into the rise and evolution of the Sinaloa Cartel, the critical—and dangerous—role of confidential informants, and the intense pressure law enforcement faces when success is measured by numbers, seizures, and arrests.

Transcript

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0:00.0	He was so way up there as a broker that we counted all of the kilos that he had been responsible for coming into our country. And they added up to 47 tons. Thank you. Hey, everybody.
0:27.2	Welcome back to this week's episode of Game of Crimes with Murph in the morning.
0:31.6	Man, I've got a long, long, long time friend here who has actually been on the Game of Crimes before.
0:38.4	About a year and a half ago.
0:40.0	But now he's got a book that came out.
0:41.8	And his book describes one of the biggest operations that the drug enforcement
0:46.0	administration ever worked on.
0:47.9	I would like to say that I got to participate in that, but I didn't.
0:51.9	But you know how we are.
0:52.9	We take credit for she didn't do anyway.
0:55.5	But it is a true honor to bring on a Navy veteran, a young man who worked with NCIS,
1:03.3	and not on the TV show, but in real life.
1:05.5	And then got a real job as a DE agent and did that for 31 years.
1:10.5	And wait, if you don't remember uh and I'll
1:13.3	tell you what his previous episode number was and all that but um if you don't remember what
1:18.2	all he's done we're going to cover that quickly but ladies and gentlemen please join me and welcome
1:22.7	to Mike Chavaria Mike brother thank you so much for coming back it sure is good to see us
1:27.3	Steve brother I feel the same it's it's uh you Avaria. Mike, brother, thank you so much for coming back. It sure is good to see you,
1:27.6	brother, I feel the same. It's, it's, you know, that's the thing about retiring. You're afraid that you're going to lose that camaraderie and contact with all your old friends. But if you work at it, you can stay in touch. And I'm sure your fan base, they know every time you show up, it seems like you get an hands from her every day.
1:46.5	Yeah, and I've already told, Mike, I'm not your fan base, they know every time you show up, it seems like you get an
1:44.9	handsomer every day. Yeah, and I've already told Mike, I'm not sending him any money. I'm not
1:49.3	sending him a check. I'm not even bouncing the check over to his house. But we're going to have
	...

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