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.

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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