Defrauding America: Encyclopedia of Secret Operations by the CIA, DEA, and Other Covert Agencies, Vol. One (Book # 2 of 30 in Defrauding America series.)

by Rodney Stich

Stings That Never Happened Plumlee said, “We were documenting the loads and the routes and waiting for the big busts. But the busts never seemed to add up to the amount of cocaine we were bringing in.” He said that many of the men in the black crews with whom he worked felt extremely uneasy about the illegality of the drug shipments. They occasionally talked of exposing the drug trafficking as a group, and complained to their DEA and CIA contacts. They were told, “You’ve got to keep the big picture in mind, or you might blow a major sting operation.” The pilots were given the line by their handlers that the drugs were for undercover operations to catch drug traffickers. Plumlee said that the DEA, CIA and FBI were spying on each other’s covert deals, and occasionally busted each other’s operatives. He described landing a DC-3 loaded with over 1200 pounds of cocaine in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was to meet an FBI contact, who failed to meet him. Plumlee then called the FBI, trying to contact the agent. Plumlee said, “The FBI thought I was some kind of nut.” That trip had started from an airfield called “The Farm,” near McAllen, Texas. His instructions were to deliver the arms to the Contras, and then return with a load of drugs.