Marijuana Mercenary - Ken Behr

Gangland Wire

Gary Jenkins

Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime, History

4.6 • 647 Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this powerful and wide-ranging episode of Gangland Wire, host Gary Jenkins sits down with Ken Behr, author of One Step Over the Line: Confessions of a Marijuana Mercenary. Behr tells his astonishing life story—from teenage marijuana dealer in South Florida, to high-level drug runner and smuggler, to DEA cooperating source working major international cases. Along the way, he offers rare, first-hand insight into how large-scale drug operations actually worked during the height of the War on Drugs—and why that war, in his view, has largely failed.

From Smuggler to Source Behr describes growing up during the explosion of the drug trade in South Florida during the 1970s and 1980s, where smuggling marijuana and cocaine became almost commonplace. He explains how he moved from street-level dealing into large-scale logistics—off-loading planes, running covert runways in the Everglades, moving thousands of pounds of marijuana, and participating in international smuggling operations involving Canada, Jamaica, Colombia, and the Bahamas. After multiple arrests—including a serious RICO case that threatened him with decades in prison—Behr made the life-altering decision to cooperate with the DEA. What followed was a tense and dangerous double life as an undercover operative, helping law enforcement dismantle major trafficking networks while living under constant pressure and fear of exposure.

Inside the Mechanics of the Drug Trade This episode goes deep into the nuts and bolts of organized drug trafficking, including:

How clandestine runways were built and dismantled in minutes
How aircraft were guided into unlit landing zones
How smuggling crews were paid and organized
Why most drug operations ultimately collapse from inside
The role of asset seizures in federal drug enforcement

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gangland-wire--5504357/support.

Subscribe to Gangland Wire wherever you get your podcasts, and join us each week as we uncover the stories buried beneath the headlines—and the bodies.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer use @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"

To go to the store or make a donation click here.
To rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here
To rent Brothers against Brothers, click here.
To rent Gangland Wire, click here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Well, hey, all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in studio of Gangland Wire. I have a special
0:04.2	guest today. He has a book called The Title Is One Step Over the Line, and he went several
0:09.5	steps over the line, I think, at his life. Ken Bear, welcome, Ken. Thanks for having me.
0:15.5	Thanks for having. Now, Ken is a, was a marijuana smuggler at one time and ended up working with the DEA, so he went from one side over to my side, and I always like to talk to you guys that helped us in law enforcement. There's a lot of guys that don't like that out there, but I like you guys. You were a huge help to us in law enforcement and ended up doing the right thing after you made a lot of money. So tell us about the money.
0:38.3	We were just starting to talk about the money. Tell us about the money. All those millions and
0:42.0	millions of dollars that you drug smuggler makes, what happens? Well, you know, like I said,
0:47.0	Jimmy Buffett's song, A Pirate Looks at 40. Basically, he says, I made enough money to buy Miami
0:53.2	and pissed it away all so fast,
0:54.9	never meant to last. And that's what happens. I do know a few people that have put away money,
1:00.7	one of my friends that we did a lot of money together, a lot of drug dealing and a lot of moving
1:06.6	some product. And he's put the money away, got in bed with some other guy that was, you know, legal, bought a bunch of warehouses. And now he lives a great life, living off the money he's put away. Yeah, the rents and stuff. He got into real estate. I know guys have got into real estate and got out and they ended up doing okay because now they're drawn all those rents. That's a good way to watch your money.
1:28.4	I was telling you a favorite story of mine was the guy that was a small-time dealer,
1:32.8	used to hang out at the beach, and he ended up saving $80,000,
1:39.2	which was a lot of money back then.
1:41.0	Yeah.
1:41.5	And then went to school to be a culinary chef and then
1:46.3	got a job at the Marriott as a culinary chef and a chef. So he, you know, he really took the money,
1:52.6	made a little bit of money, didn't make a lot, but made enough to go to school and do something
1:56.2	with his life. That's a great one. That's a good one. Yeah, but he wasn't a big time guy.
2:02.4	Yeah.
2:02.9	You know, what happens is you might make a big lick.
2:07.1	You know, I never made million dollar moves.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gary Jenkins, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gary Jenkins and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.