How I Became a DEA Informant to Avoid 25 Years in Prison

Former South Florida drug smuggler Ken Behr returns to Honor Among Thieves Podcast to explain how he became a DEA confidential informant. Facing up to 25 years in prison after a marijuana bust, Ken recounts his decision to cooperate and the two years he spent working undercover while trying to stay in his young daughter’s life. In this Part 2 interview with Nelson Rodriguez Jr., Ken shares stories of recorded drug deals, paid informants, undercover sting operations and asset seizures. He describes a close call in Jamaica, a $100,000 payout he says he witnessed another informant receive, and his role in an investigation involving a proposed 10,000-kilo cocaine deal linked to Canadian organized crime. The conversation also explores the pressure of a RICO case, the personal cost of becoming an informant, and the operations that still trouble Ken decades later. He reflects on receiving probation, raising his children and leaving drug trafficking behind in this firsthand true crime account of cooperation, consequences and second chances. Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for more true-crime interviews, federal prison stories, organized crime history, drug-trafficking cases, and raw conversations about consequences and redemption. This episode is presented for documentary, journalistic, and educational purposes. It does not promote or glorify illegal drug use, drug trafficking, identity fraud, or other criminal activity. Chapters 00:00 Ken Behr: Drug Smuggler Turned DEA Informant 05:01 The Marijuana Bust That Led to a RICO Case 09:22 How a One-Pound Bust Exposed a Smuggling Network 17:35 Facing 25 Years: Pressure to Become an Informant 27:52 Why Drug Smugglers End Up Broke 37:18 How Ken Was Recruited as a DEA Informant 41:12 Paid DEA Informants and a $100,000 Payout 44:03 Meeting His DEA Handler: Code Name Kilo Bravo 50:23 Inside Ken’s First DEA Drug Sting 1:01:32 Wearing a Wire for a West Palm Beach Drug Bust 1:11:12 The Recording Equipment Ken Used for the DEA 1:22:09 Undercover in Jamaica: Ken’s Emergency Extraction 1:31:10 The 200-Kilo Hashish Sting in Fort Lauderdale 1:36:21 The Personal Cost of Becoming a DEA Informant 1:43:05 Canadian Mob: The Proposed 10,000-Kilo Cocaine Deal 1:52:09 DEA Cooperation and the Pressure to Name Names 1:59:46 Ken Behr on the War on Drugs 2:05:23 Leaving Drug Smuggling Behind: Ken’s Lessons 2:09:32 Ken Behr’s Book, Podcast, Crime Nightly and Redemption 📌 Have an unbelievable story? Apply to be a guest: 👉 https://www.honoramongthievespodcast.com/guest Get Your Merch👇👇👇 https://shop.honoramongthievespodcast.com/products/the-world-is-mine-unisex-t-shirt Become an Honor Among Thieves Patreon Member Join The Underworld👇👇👇 https://www.patreon.com/cw/honoramongthieves?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator 🔗 Links 📸 Nelson on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/ 📸 Ken on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kenbehr?igsh=YXM2cWVic3k2djVn 📸 Crime Nightly https://www.instagram.com/crimenightly?igsh=MWtkbDIya3FiaGZwZw== https://onestepovertheline.com/ 💎 Sponsors Nord VPN https://bit.ly/honorvpn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices