“The international criminal organizations who traffic it and sell it on the streets.”
“Yes. But that’s not all. Who else gets the money?”
“I don’t know, who?”
“Ask the ISI. Ask Ian Williams.”
Max looked at him sideways. “What do you mean?”
Wilkes smiled. “When Williams was still in good standing with MI6, he was working in their Pakistan field office, where I now believe he was recruited by our friend Abdul Syed of the ISI.”
Trent said, “So Ian Williams got recruited by the ISI. That fits with what we know of him.”
“Some of our sources confirmed that Williams was kicked out of MI6 for unethical and possibly illegal actions involving Afghan drug lords. He was also reportedly spotted meeting with an ISI operative, and he didn’t disclose the meeting to MI6. He was kicked out of MI6 as the investigations began. But he fled the country. MI6 tells us that they think he contacted his old buddies in Pakistan and went to work for them.”
“What did they have him doing?”
Wilkes said, “That’s where it gets interesting. For several years now, we’ve suspected that Pakistani intelligence is helping to run a substantial portion of the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan. Williams was already connected to many of the players in that business. But this was back in the early 2000s. The demand for opium — both the legal and illegal demand — was only a fraction of what it is today.”
“The ISI saw an opportunity.”
“Exactly. The ISI knew the benefit that type of business could have for them. Behind the scenes, the ISI runs Pakistan. Taking over Afghanistan’s heroin trade allows them enormous power and international influence.”
Renee shook her head. “How?”
Max said, “Think about it. If Pakistan controls the economy of their neighbor Afghanistan, they own that country. And all that cash is off the books, so they can do whatever they want with it. Influence elections. Buy policy. Pay for black ops. That’s why so many intelligence agencies around the world sometimes deal with narcotics traffickers. It’s the darker side of the intel business.”
Renee said, “The US doesn’t do that, do they?”
Wilkes smiled. “We use taxpayer money to fund our black ops.”
Polite laughter followed. Except for Renee, who looked slightly horrified.
Wilkes said, “And it isn’t just influence in Pakistan. Remember, the trade routes for Afghan opium run through Iran, Turkey, India, and dozens of other nations. The more the ISI gets their hands in different international pots of money, the more power they have in those countries as well. The ISI wanted Ian Williams to help them grow the pie, and to make sure they got a huge piece to themselves.”
Max tried to put it all together in his mind. “So what are you saying? That the ISI recruited Williams to somehow spur on the global opium market? How?”
“Pakistani influence could only go so far by itself. They needed men like Ian Williams. People with connections. Dark salesmen who wouldn’t mind stuffing a politician or businessman’s back pocket with illicit cash in exchange for a big favor.”
“How did he do it?”
“Back in the early 2000s, after the international coalition went in and collapsed the Taliban government, the United Kingdom was put in charge of the farming and drug policy in Afghanistan. Officially it was supposed to be run by their diplomats. But Ian Williams had huge sway with them, thanks to all his backroom deals throughout both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Between Williams and a group of other ISI agents, they were able to ensure that Afghan opium farming would grow rapidly. Maybe it wasn’t completely official, but there were winks and nods. And Williams and Syed didn’t stop there. Recognizing the huge growth opportunity in opium, they knew that they could expand to other markets. Other regions. And we think they got involved in the legal side of the marketplace as well.”
Max frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Then-congressman Herbert Becker first met Ian Williams in Afghanistan in 2002. Becker was on a diplomatic fact-finding mission. That same year, research came out that supported the use of narcotics like opioids to treat long-term pain. This was a new development. The research was paid for by Big Pharma. A year later, Becker voted on legislation deregulating the use of prescription opioids in the United States.”
Max’s thoughts were a swirl of ideas and facts. “Are you trying to tell me that the ISI, along with a rogue British agent and a dirty US politician, intentionally orchestrated the opioid epidemic?”
Renee said, “That seems far-fetched.”
“I thought the same thing at first. But around this time, Becker made a lot of changes. He ran for Senate. He got a ton of money from outside contributors, many of whom had ties to the drug industry.”
“That doesn’t mean he was working for the ISI. Every politician gets supported by some special interest.”
“You’re right. But you have to ask yourself, how does Afghanistan end up producing ninety percent of the world’s heroin? That’s a multibillion-dollar operation. You always hear about the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels and how they operated like Fortune 500 companies, right? Guess what, the Afghans aren’t running their drug trade by themselves. There’s too much money in it. A business that size needs to plan the supply chain, distribution, sales. To seed demand among millions of customers… ”
“A conspiracy of this size would have to be huge.”
Wilkes said, “You have no idea. Afghanistan makes a few billion dollars a year from their opioid farming operation. But the global market for illicit heroin is closer to fifty billion. Add in another fifty billion for legal opioids. Add in more money for all the treatment programs. For insurance companies. Tax dollars. Opioids are an economic juggernaut.”
“And Afghanistan grows ninety percent of all of that?”
“Not quite. They grow ninety percent of the illicit opium. The legal stuff is grown by licensed opium producers — mostly in Australia, Turkey, India, and France, and a few other countries. These are the suppliers for the pharmaceutical companies. But the illegal and legal opioid demand is related. They feed off each other.”
Trent cleared his throat. “That’s how my brother got started. Josh used both. He got a prescription for pain meds. The prescription ran out, but he was hooked. Couldn’t stop. And it wasn’t like he was a weak guy or anything. Hell, he’d been to war.”
Renee was making the same connection. “All the statistics I looked at online showed the trend of increased heroin use in the US following the increased use of legal opioids.”
Wilkes nodded. “And that trend line began right after Becker met with Williams.”
The group went silent for a moment.
Trent said, “How is Senator Becker in on it?”
“We don’t know that he is, exactly. Our intel suggests he may have been unaware of many details,” Wilkes replied. “Last night, using a device we provided, your father was able to record part of the conversation between Senator Becker and his daughter, Karen.”
Charles pressed his lips together and nodded in acknowledgment.
“What did they say?”
Wilkes placed his cell phone down on the coffee table in front of him. He tapped a button, and a conversation began playing.
Karen: “I think you should go back to the FBI.”