FBI Informant Reveals How Snitches Make MILLIONS

The guest initially leveraged his 'Coconut King' business, selling coconut cocktails at major music festivals, as a perfect cash-rich cover to begin trafficking cannabis. He started with small quantities (5-15 lbs) from Humboldt County, California, selling it for a significant profit on the East Coast. He quickly scaled his operations, developing sophisticated methods for transporting 100-200 lbs at a time via trains, shipping containers, and private planes, becoming a high-level drug trafficker for the Tyron McFaten DTO in Philadelphia.

He started with five pounds, sourced it, brought it across on a Greyhound. He eventually became very good at finding ways to traffic narcotics, taking it on trains, hiding it in bathroom compartments, using moving containers, and private planes. He escalated from 5 lbs to 100-200 lbs at a time, bringing it to Philadelphia. His coconut business served as the 'perfect cover' for his cash flow and travel.

The guest's decision to leave the criminal life and become an informant was triggered by a violent robbery in late 2012/early 2013. While transporting 30-50 pounds of drugs by train, he was ambushed by an associate who put a gun to his face, stole his entire load, and left him in a field in Croton-Harmon, New York. This near-death experience, combined with a desire for retribution and an end to the lifestyle, prompted him to seek out law enforcement.

He was robbed while taking the train across the country with 30 or 50 pounds. Someone put a gun in his face, took everything, and dropped him off in a field in Croton-Harmon, New York, in late 2012. This was the 'catalyst' and 'straw that broke the camel's back' for him to stop and start cooperating.

Professional informants can earn substantial amounts, potentially millions, by negotiating a percentage of seized cash. If an informant provides information leading to the discovery of a large sum of money (e.g., $1 million), they can negotiate with law enforcement for a portion of that cash, as agencies often don't know its location until informed. This is distinct from simply getting paid per bust or per gun, which typically yields much smaller amounts (e.g., $50-60k/year).

The guest states, 'If there's a million dollars, you can negotiate how much of that you're going to get with the law enforcement element that you're working with because they don't know where it is until you tell them and then you're going to get a portion of it and that's where you can make serious money. So people do make millions of dollars as informants.' He contrasts this with his $50-60k/year earnings as a contractor for buys.

After his cooperation, the guest was sentenced to 84 months (7 years) and designated to a specialized, undisclosed protective custody unit within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This program is for high-level protected government witnesses, where inmates are identified by initials rather than names and are housed in facilities not listed on the federal inmate locator. He spent two and a half years in this unit, including significant time in solitary confinement during transfer, before eventually opting to leave the program and enter general population.

He received 84 months, was designated to a 'specialized undisclosed location within the Bureau of Prisons,' and became a 'protected government witness.' He states his name no longer existed, he was an 'initial,' and the facility was not findable on the BOP system. He spent two and a half years in this protected custody unit, including 31 months total in solitary confinement during transfers.

After his release in 2022, the guest channeled his extensive experience as both a criminal and an informant into a new mission: teaching law enforcement how to be more proactive and effective with confidential sources. He developed a course and founded 'The Human Intelligence Ledger,' a publication and podcast where he interviews top law enforcement officials and former cooperators. His goal is to bridge the gap between 'clean-cut' officers and the criminal element, emphasizing the importance of building rapport and respect to combat issues like the fentanyl epidemic.

He started teaching law enforcement how to be more proactive with informants, working with departments and criminal justice programs to explain the dynamic between handler and informant. He bottled this into a course and started 'The Human Intelligence Ledger,' interviewing heads of the DEA, FBI agents, and former cooperators like Chapo Guzman's distributor. His mission is to help law enforcement 'more effectively battle this epidemic [fentanyl] that's occurring in our society.'