Julian Dorey Podcast #405 - “Chocolate C*KE!” - Ex-FBI Most Wanted Kingpin on Sicarios, Smuggling & Power | Owen Hanson
Apr 6, 2026
Owen Hanson, former USC athlete turned bookmaker and international trafficker who served federal time and now writes and speaks. He recounts USC football life, the rise of a global smuggling and gambling operation, inventive concealment techniques like hiding cocaine in chocolate, cartel pressure and a high-stakes sting, then life behind bars and rebuilding afterward.
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Building A Costa Rica Offshore Bookmaking Empire
- Owen built an offshore sportsbook from Costa Rica, running a 1-800 call center and VIP service that handled 2,000 customers at peak.
- He treated top clients like casino hosts with travel, mansions, and concierge service, generating roughly $500k/month before arrest.
Offshore Bookies Create Blind Spots For Game Integrity
- Unregulated offshore bookies create the weakest monitoring vector for game integrity because servers and payments sit outside U.S. oversight.
- Owen warns that prop and player-targeted bets migrate to street bookies where surveillance can't catch suspicious flows.
From Cash Drops To Cartel Debt Trigger
- A Mexican client paid Owen to drop and pick up cash; Owen began handling million-dollar cash transfers and earned 10% per drop.
- Those pickups escalated into laundering and ultimately led to cartel debt and recruitment pressure.
