CHAPTER 3

23 standing at a podium: A video of Bharara’s press conference was subsequently released by the Southern District of New York.

23 unsealed an indictment: USA v. Hunter, Document 11, September 30, 2013.

24 on a golf course: “Rambo’s Lonely Lair,” Bangkok Post, October 10, 2013.

25 another dramatic bust: USA v. Stammers, Document 11, November 21, 2013.

25 Bharara said in a press release: “5 Extradited, Charged with North Korean Drug Trafficking Conspiracy,” DEA Press Release, November 20, 2013.

25 The Washington Post quoted: The anonymous law enforcement source told The Post that the defendants were “part of a sprawling international drug trafficking ring led by a former American soldier, Joseph Manuel Hunter, who has separately been charged with conspiring to murder a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.” The characterization seemed designed to squelch fur- ther inquiry into the matter: The DEA had caught the “leader,” Hunter, and his cohorts. (Sari Horwitz, “5 Extradited in Plot to Import North Korean Meth to U.S.,” The Washington Post, November 20, 2013.) Later, Vice News also made the connection between the cases, citing anonymous DEA sources. (Keegan Hamilton, “North Korean Meth, Motorcycle Gangs, Army Snipers, and a Guy Named Rambo,” Vice News, March 18, 2014.)

26 a DEA spokesperson replied: This in and of itself wasn’t necessarily unusual. It was common for the DEA to refuse comment on open cases.

26 to a New York Times reporter: Alan Feuer, “In Real Life, ‘Rambo’ Ends Up as a Soldier of Misfortune, Behind Bars,” The New York Times, December 20, 2014.

26 “Viktor Bout on steroids”: Bout had been the subject of numerous books and magazine articles, and a Nicolas Cage movie was based loosely on his ex- ploits.

27 a 2008 Federal Communications Commission complaint: The letter from the FCC was addressed, as it happened, to the same mail drop address that Brill and Holdren had discovered in Florida.

27 Red White & Blue Arms: The dealer’s website, rwbarms.com, was linked to a registration containing Le Roux’s email address.

27 in a Hong Kong company database: Many countries offer online databases of all registered corporations, either free or for a fee. In Hong Kong this is known as the Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS). In the United Kingdom it is known as Companies House. Unless otherwise noted, I obtained information on Le Roux’s companies through searches in these data- bases, or they were provided to me by former members of his organization.

27 establishing Net Trading LTD: This was the first document on which I found Le Roux’s signature, a jumble of letters piled atop the “R” in “Roux.” The address Le Roux gave was an apartment in Rotterdam.

27 someone named Robson Tandanayi: Le Roux, as he began registering compa- nies in the names of other people, often returned to the same individuals over