The Bangkok Connection

Leslie   “Ike”   Atkinson   is   one   of   U.S.   history’s   most   original   gangsters.   According   to   law   enforcement   sources,   he   and   his   gang smuggled,   by   conservative   estimates,   1,000   pounds   of   heroin   annually   from   Bangkok,   Thailand,   to   U.S.   military   bases   during   their period of operation from 1968 to 1975. The   Bangkok   Connection:   Trafficking   Heroin   from Asia   to   the   USA   chronicles   the   story   of Atkinson,   a   charismatic   former   U.S.   army master   sergeant,   career   smuggler,   card   shark   and   doting   family   man   whom   law   enforcement   agencies   code-named   Sergeant Smack. Sergeant   Smack’s   criminal   activities   sparked   the   creation   of   a   special   DEA   unit   code-named   CENTAC   9,   which   conducted   an intensive   three-year   investigation   across   three   continents.   Sergeant   Smack   was   elusive,   but   the   discovery   of   his   palm   print   on   a kilo of heroin finally took him down.