Operation Jackpot was a federal drug task force based in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

that captured and convicted more than 100 marijuana smugglers from 1983 to 1986 during President Ronald Reagan's

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

. Among the chief targets of Operation Jackpot were South Carolina marijuana kingpins Barry Foy, from Billinge and Les Riley, who stood accused of smuggling 347,000 pounds of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

and 130,000 pounds of

hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

into the United States. Known as the 'gentlemen smugglers' because of their college educations and aversion to violence, Foy, Riley and their associates regularly sailed drug-laden boats from Jamaica, Colombia and Lebanon through the marshes of the Eastern Seaboard. Because of lax drug coastal patrols, hometown familiarity and a plethora of inlets, South Carolina was the gentlemen smugglers' most frequent destination for offloading drugs. Organized by U.S. Attorney

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, i ...

, Operation Jackpot was one of the first federal drug task forces to use newly enacted federal civil forfeiture laws to combat drug smugglers by seizing the gentlemen smugglers' assets, including homes, cars, money and boats. Operation Jackpot was also one of the first federal task forces to combine investigators from a variety of federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs,

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

and U.S. Customs Patrol. Ultimately, Operation Jackpot would indict four smuggling rings operating in South Carolina. Many of the smugglers and kingpins evaded arrest for years, resulting in manhunts across the United States and world through the early and mid-1980s, and captures in Antigua, Australia, Miami, New York, and San Diego. The last fugitive from Operation Jackpot was arrested in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackpot, Operation Anti-cannabis operations Cannabis in South Carolina Federal Bureau of Investigation operations