11 Sep The Ruthlessness Of A Drug Lord With The Technological Savvy Of A Silicon Valley Entrepreneur
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
Sausalito, Calif. – Sep. 11, 2025
“The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal.” is the incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux—the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
The Los Angeles Times called the 2019 hardcover book “A tour de force of shoe-leather reporting—undertaken, amid threats and menacing, at considerable personal risk.”
Evan Ratliff, author of The Mastermind, is a journalist who has contributed to Bloomberg Business Week, Wired, and the New Yorker, among other publications. He is also is co-founder of Atavist Magazine, Pop-up Magazine, and the Longform Podcast.
In this new episode on the Cybercrime Magazine Podcast, Ratliff joins host Heather Engel for a riveting discussion about the book, and some of his other media reporting since then.
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