True crime · 10 episodes · Foxtopus Ink & Imperative Entertainment
The Syndicate
Buried cash. DEA moles. Sibling rivalries. Skydiving planes. Fast cars. And an exploding hash lab.
A group of college friends took advantage of loopholes in Colorado's medical marijuana laws to build one of the longest, most lucrative smuggling runs in U.S. history. Under the guise of running medical marijuana grow houses, they trafficked thousands of pounds of pot out of state for the black market, raking in so much cash it filled their closets and offices — once even throwing bags of money with GPS trackers off cliffs in the Rockies to retrieve later. When a drug mule flipped, SWAT teams and DEA agents kicked down the doors of 32 people around Denver in a sting that became known as Operation Golden Go-Fer.
"Flying into town, cocaine, girls, booze … we were exchanging half a million dollars at a time."
Joe Johnson, Syndicate member turned informant
Produced by Foxtopus Ink and Imperative Entertainment, and distributed by Westwood One.
Hosted by Chris Walker
Investigative journalist
Chris Walker is a Denver-based journalist whose reporting has spanned four continents for The Atlantic, Playboy, Atavist Magazine, Vice, NPR, Rock and Ice, Forbes and LA Weekly, among others. He's an associate editor at 5280 Magazine and was previously a staff writer at Denver's alternative weekly, Westword, where he wrote narrative longform pieces — from investigations into immigration detention and police surveillance to deep dives on Denver's secret 1960s LSD labs and the pirate radio DJs who took on the FCC.
Episode guide
The Drug Runner 32 min
In June 2014, a Kansas state trooper pulls over a minivan and finds $374,000 in cash, a gun and 66 pounds of pot — the bust that unravels a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
Setting Up Shop 41 min
Andrew Cohen moves to Colorado to help his college friend Tri Nguyen start a marijuana business. When Tri throws a duffel bag of cash and a GPS tracker off a mountain, Cohen realizes the business isn't fully legitimate.
More Patients, More Plants 34 min
Tri expands into industrial growing facilities across Denver and builds a "caregiving" model to get past regulators while hiding the operation in plain sight.
Pest Control 42 min
The network grows, but moving product across state lines gets riskier — and the group runs into early growing pains and personnel problems of its own.
Almost Legal 42 min
Tri makes a play to go legal and leave the black market behind. The episode asks what that would take — and what the Syndicate would have to sacrifice.
Family Man 44 min
The kingpin's backstory: his motivations, his history with the Syndicate's Minnesota distributor, and why he reacted the way he did when things in Denver went bad.
Operation Golden Go-Fer 39 min
After member Joe Johnson flips and becomes an informant, police execute 18 simultaneous search warrants with SWAT teams and over a hundred officers.
All Gone to Pot 41 min
Friendships and family bonds break down as members are pressured to inform on one another. Were the outcomes just, and what did it all mean for the black market?
Follow the Money 22 min
Colorado Department of Revenue Special Agent Steve Bratten on the investigative techniques he developed working the Syndicate case.
A Potted Plant History 35 min
Drug historian Emily Dufton on the history of cannabis in the U.S. and the outlook for nationwide legalization.
In the press
This multimillion-dollar drug smuggling ring used skydivers to transport weed.
Vice
A riveting argument for federal legalization.
Forbes
From skydiving planes to DEA moles — the fall of a marijuana-smuggling ring.
Salon
Featured in What We're Reading (and Listening To).
Business Insider
One of six great Colorado podcasts you should be listening to.
The Denver Post
Featured on "Pot Smuggling 2.0."
Colorado Public Radio, On Something
Dives into the world of cannabis smugglers.
High Times
How legalization supports the illicit pot market.
Weed Week
Featured in a roundup of weekly audio picks.
Minnesota Public Radio
Skydiving with one of Denver's largest marijuana smugglers.
5280 Magazine