Sohlberg and the White Death is finally available worldwide as the third of the Inspector Sohlberg series.
I hope that readers will enjoy this giant novel on crime . . . it's taken straight out of police files. Meet the characters who live and die in the brave new underworld of international drug cartels and corrupt governments.
Research for the book took me on an incredible journey through obsession, paranoia, murder, money laundering, drug smuggling, and secret Swiss bank accounts.
A French detective (Commissaire X in Lyon) gave me the idea for the title when he said that cocaine, heroin, prescription narcotics, etc. are "The White Death". He took me along on several raids and shared information on several investigations. I was shocked at the size, power, and sophistication of the international drug cartels, specially the 'Ndrangheta criminal organization of southern Italy. The 'Ndrangheta control cocaine smuggling into Europe. Their annual take-home pay is in the billions of dollars. One member of the Pelle Crime Family was caught stashing the equivalent of $ 2 billion U.S. dollars ($ 1.47 billion euros) in the walls of his mansion near Paris, France. Obviously, crime pays.
The commissaire also introduced me to cartels' absolute corrupting power which controls and ruins many policemen, including Michel Neyret. The former Deputy Chief of Police for Lyon, France, has yet to completely clear his name from multiple criminal charges for corruption charges. See, Chrisafis, Angelique, "French 'supercop' arrested on suspicion of colluding with drugs barons." The Guardian, 30 September 2011: online.
Readers will enter a brave new world where criminals easily earn $ 27 billion in cash. And, yes, that cash is sitting unclaimed in 200 pallets at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, Russia. See, Stewart, Will. “Is Saddam Hussein's fortune in a warehouse in Moscow? Mystery over £16.75bn piles of cash left at airport for six years” Daily Mail. 29 Sept. 2013: online.
The existence and location of the $ 27 billion dollars has been reported in many newspapers, including the Daily Mail (London, UK). The shipper, Farzin Koroorian Motlagh, has proven to be elusive in the extreme during all interviews with police and journalists. Part of the money, without a doubt, comes from the 'Ndrangheta. I have no doubts that the Pelle-Vottari-Romeo clan from San Luca is the source.
I hope that readers will enjoy this giant novel on crime . . . it's taken straight out of police files. Meet the characters who live in the brave new underworld of international drug cartels. Danger lurks everywhere for Inspector Sohlberg as it does in real life for the brave individuals who fight corruption and crime.
