From Most Wanted to Most Trusted: The Double Life of a Law Enforcement Informant

What if the people we locked away for drug crimes were running million-dollar trafficking empires—from behind bars?

In this explosive episode, we sit down with Benjamin Freedland—once a mid-level trafficker moving hundreds of pounds of marijuana and deeply embedded in a cartel’s East Coast operation. After flipping and working undercover with the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Freedland now trains law enforcement on how to recruit and manage high-level informants.

But this story isn't about redemption—it’s a chilling look at the new face of the fentanyl crisis. Freedland reveals how America’s correctional system has become a breeding ground for synthetic drugs and organized crime.

This episode will challenge everything you think you know about law enforcement, cooperation, and the systemic failures that keep the opioid epidemic alive.

We discuss:

• Prisons are ground zero for synthetic drug trafficking, especially K2 and fentanyl-laced substances.
• Old-school “tough cop” methods backfire when recruiting reliable informants—respect wins.
• The criminal justice system needs a radical overhaul to disrupt the fentanyl pipeline—starting with how we train officers.

Listen and subscribe on your favorite podcast player:

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Apple Podcasts

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

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