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Home > Secrets & Spies > S10 Ep20: Espionage and Drug Trafficking: The Life of Harold Derber with David Tuch
Podcast: Secrets & Spies
Episode:

S10 Ep20: Espionage and Drug Trafficking: The Life of Harold Derber with David Tuch
Category: News & Politics
Duration: 00:58:51
Publish Date: 2025-12-17 07:53:00
Description:
David Tuch, author of The Wireless Operator, joins Chris to tell the stranger-than-fiction story of Harold Derber—a wartime wireless operator who later ran blockade-busting weapons to Israel before reinventing marijuana smuggling in the 1970s. David explains how a loophole created by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act briefly made it legal to hold drugs in international waters—and how Derber exploited it with a “mothership” fleet, offloading tons of marijuana at sea. They break down why Deber’s flagship, the Night Train, became law enforcement’s obsession, built on counter-surveillance and tradecraft designed to keep informants out. The conversation then moves into Miami and Wall Street—money laundering, the Gambinos, and First Jersey Securities—alongside Derber’s documented ties to Cuban intelligence.

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Learn more about David and his work: https://davidtuch.com

Order The Wireless Operator: https://www.iconbooks.com/ib-title/the-wireless-operator/

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Secrets and Spies is produced by F & P LTD.
Music by Andrew R. Bird
Photo by David Tuch, Ted Akey, Wolfson Archives & Icon Books

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.
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