By Gates L. Scott

Back in 2005, it was estimated that the global trade of illegal drugs topped over $400 billion dollars and those numbers are continually growing today. Some have estimated that this totals the amount spent on food in the same period of time. Drug trafficking is the most widespread and lucrative organized crime operation in the United States. Illegal drug sales make up for over 40% of the organized crime activity in the country and in 2006, the estimated street value of cocaine seized by the United States Coast Guard was estimated at $3.1 billion dollars; over 238,000 pounds of cocaine. America’s hunger for cocaine and other illegal drugs drives the demand and may in fact be viewed as currency for counter intelligence operations of our country as well as others around the world. Over 75% of cocaine distributed primarily from South American countries like Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela ends up on the streets of the United States. However, the South American domination in cultivation, processing and distribution has been lessened by drug interdiction programs of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Guard, the United States Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and South American governments imposition of severe restrictions on the importation of chemicals essential to cocaine processing and by the destruction of various facilities and processing sites throughout the region, as well as intensified law enforcement measures that have made a great impact on trafficking operations. However, organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking share a “core/support” configuration found to be common to all organized crime groups and considering the demand and profits, it still is one of our country’s biggest problems.

It is estimated that Colombian trafficking organization currently export over 65% of processed cocaine on private aircraft. It is also estimated that the world’s drug trade utilizes general aviation aircraft for up to one third of its distribution. The remaining percentage is shipped on ocean vessels or “go fast boats”, including sophisticated submersibles and submarines, smuggled through commercial airline carriers and over land in a variety of methods. Cocaine and other drugs like marijuana are ordinarily smuggled from South America to the United States for major various organizations or groups by American citizens acting as mercenary pilots. Pilots that assist in transportation are normally ex-military, commercial and private pilots, and in some cases unlicensed pilots.

In 1981, Don Kirchner, who had graduated from the U.S. Army Helicopter Flight Training School in Savannah, Georgia and completed a tour of duty in Viet Nam in 1969 flying the UH-1, was convicted for his involvement with a marijuana smuggling operation in New Mexico. After spending a number of years in prison, Don has written extensively on the subject in in his book, A Matter of Time, published in 1999. Once he returned from Viet Nam and facing a global recession and panicked investors, his small aviation business in Santa Fe, New Mexico was in trouble. Desperate to pay his bills and support his two small children, Kirchner was lured into the fast money prospects of the drug trade. Flying a Bonanza A36 from Tucson, landing on beaches just north of Mazatlan, he was hired by members of the Greek mafia to fly shipments of marijuana back into the United States eluding U.S. Customs and military radar. “It was totally outlandish from the beginning. There were two different groups. The group in Santa Fe were all around decent guys making most of their money running loads of marijuana across the border in dune buggies”, Kirchner recalls. "The other group I was introduced to was a large supplier that worked with Berrimen Seal, the sinister types, the Greek mafia. I started as a personal pilot with this group that had ties to Manuel Noriega and the Colombian government."