DEA Agent Almost Shot on Operation | Jack McFarland | Ep. 353

The Team House

dee takos

History, Documentary, Society & Culture, Government

4.7 • 929 Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2025

⏱️ 110 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The interview features retired DEA Supervisory Special Agent Jack McFarland, who shares his 32-year career highlights. He recounts early Philadelphia drug busts, his time training new agents at Quantico, and challenging international assignments in the Caribbean, including a "reverse undercover" sting. McFarland also discusses the personal toll of the job, including an assassination attempt on his agent's family and the loss of colleagues, reflecting on the dedication and sacrifices made in combating drug trafficking globally.
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00:00 - Start
00:17 - Guest Introduction & DEA Origins
10:25 - Undercover Operations & Major Seizures
21:26 - Quantico Instructor & DEA Tactical Training
36:47 - Caribbean Division & "Reverse Undercover" Sting:
52:00 - Targeted Assassination Attempt & Island Violence
1:00:00 - TSA Incident & Freighter Interception
1:08:59 - Risk vs. Reward in DEA Operations
1:18:50 - Honoring Fallen Agents & Personal Reflections

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The weather. Tomorrow, expect a... Biting cold front. Mmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise, slowly but surely, reaching their peak in the afternoon.
0:23.0	Not in the mood for miserable weather?
0:25.5	Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express.
0:28.6	Sun Express, non-stop sunshine.
0:33.7	Special operations.
0:37.3	Covert ops. Espionage, the Team House, with your hopes, Jack Murphy, and David Park.
0:51.3	Welcome to episode 353 of the Team House. I'm Jack here with Dave and our guest on tonight's show is Jack McFarland. Jack spent 32 years with the Drug Enforcement Agency working his way up through the ranks with assignments in the Caribbean Division, working a lot in Philadelphia,
1:15.1	instructor positions in Quantico, worked undercover operations,
1:20.9	gotten in numerous gunfights, all kinds of interesting interagency operations that he conducted or was a part of,
1:23.4	and even managed to get himself an internal affairs investigation because of a TSA agent
1:30.0	that gave him a hard time. So there's plenty to talk about here today. And Jack, thank you for
1:34.8	joining us on the show. Gentlemen, Jack and Dave, thank you very much for having me. Appreciate it.
1:40.7	So, you know, the mandatory first question we ask about the guest's origin story.
1:46.5	If you tell us a bit about, like, kind of your upbringing, how you grew up, and how that
1:50.4	eventually took you towards law enforcement.
1:53.3	Sure.
1:53.6	I was born and raised just north of Valentine Town, Pennsylvania, coal regions, coal cracker.
1:59.5	And basically, I got into teaching and football coaching when I came out of college.
2:04.8	And then I wanted to get into federal law enforcement.
2:08.8	I applied to the FBI, applied to the DEA.
2:11.0	And believe it or not, back in 1987, Ronald Reagan was president.
2:14.7	DEA came a call.
	...

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