* episode starts at min 30*.
From war lords, to drug kingpins, Cartels, criminals, gangs, serial killers, and ever day psychos, World on Drugs with Steve Furey deep dives into subjects and people other wont. We analyze it through the lens of comedy, to try and see how and why these people/event went down the wrong road. So come join me, Steve Furey and my funny friends to learn about some of the people who stay in the shadows.
Guest is Ari Mannis (@arimannis, Unlicensed Therapy Podcast)
This is the story of Zhenli Ye Gon, a Chinese-born Mexican who holds the record for the largest seizure of drug cash in the world. A businessman with a penchant for losing money in Vegas ($125 million by some records), Ye Gon imported over 80 tons of methamphetamine precursor chemicals behind the facade of pharmaceutical company UNIMED before his operation earned him a search warrant, that yielded over $200 million in hundred dollar bills. Some say the cash comes from illegal campaign funds, some say he’s got ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, either way since his arrest in 2007 nobody has been convicted of any crime, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Researcher Gray Livingston
Sources:
http://research.ridgway.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ZhenliYeGonGroupPROFILEFINAL.pdf
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/28/AR2008102801364.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/gon-affidavit.pdf
https://www.efe.com/efe/english/world/mexico-to-auction-zhenli-ye-gon-criminal-s-mansion-worth-5-million/50000262-4032985
https://joebidenbio.com/zhenli-ye-gon/
https://roanoke.com/news/virginia/years-after-a-207-million-cash-seizure-in-mexico-the-case-lands-in-roanoke/article_4f260d97-c093-563d-8149-9059a081f655.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37699634
https://web.archive.org/web/20110521170437/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/4992830.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenli_Ye_Gon