All language subtitles for Locked Up Abroad_S10E02_Korean Ecstasy King

My past has been painful.

But once that drug came into the
picture, everything completely changed.

I felt powerful in a way that I'd never
felt before.

Pack your bags. Gotta leave. Now.

That was where things took a big turn
for the worse.

What? It was a bad nightmare.

Where have you been?

And there was no way out.

I knew that everything I lived for,
drugs, freedom, parties, it was all

In 2004, I was working in Buffalo, New
York for a major cell phone company.

When I went into sales, I went all in
because my personality

is kind of an addictive personality.

I've always been the type of guy who
likes to take things on full bore.

If it's money, I want more.

If it's cocaine, I want more.

Being out with Kali, we worked really
hard, we played really hard.

The money was flowing in.

I was selling more cell phones than
anybody else in the company.

Things from the outside look great.

But internally, there was a lot of pain,
I think, that I wanted to escape from.

Growing up, I was living in a religious
cult.

My father was a pastor of a church.

which had the twisted perspective on
Christianity.

I had two brothers and a sister. I was
the oldest.

When my sister was four years old, she
got leukemia.

My parents were trying to save her life,
but they were so tied into that church,

they were leaning.

a little bit too far into the faith
side.

I was 11 years old when Molly died.

It was very traumatic for me.

I

was

very angry with my parents.

And over the years, I went into complete
rebellion mode.

I was always looking for a way to
alleviate the pain and just kind of

But doing a lot of cocaine just leaves
you feeling empty.

And my financial situation was beginning
to crumble.

My life had spiraled out of control.

And then one day, I read a newspaper
article about teachers in Korea.

What I discovered was that there was
virtually no drugs in the country.

And I thought maybe a geographical
change would be the cure that I was

for to fix my life.

I got a teaching job.

with the Korean language school.

I was feeling lots of relief and
excitement for what lay ahead.

And so everything seemed new and
strange.

I thought everything was going to work
out perfectly.

Life completely changed for me.

Yeah. I'm enjoying teaching these kids.

What you gotta do is that.

Cravings for cocaine evaporated.

The dark cloud covered the sky.

I really had a high sense of self
-satisfaction.

Good.

It was really kind of a heaven on earth.

I had a really good time with my fellow
English teachers.

The funny thing was, after about five
months, I started to process some of my

emotions.

Painful feelings started to crop up from
my youth, and I couldn't control them.

I started to crave drugs.

I'd heard that if I went to the right
part of town, I could find some

The Koreans refer to it as the foreigner
ghetto. It's called Itaewon.

As a drug user, there's kind of a sixth
sense that you develop.

for who might be up to shady things.

That night, I met somebody who changed
everything for me.

PJ was a small fellow with a very big
smile.

Immediately, he pulled out a bag and he
told me that he'd been selling this

stuff in Seoul for some time.

I'd never tried MDMA, but I'd heard
about it and I wanted to try.

He assured me that I'd be very
satisfied.

The MDMA was exciting.

There was a lot of love.

It was a very warm, inviting sensation.

My past has been painful.

MDMA provided the missing love.

Once that drug came into the picture,
everything completely changed.

Sharing MDMA with my friends, it was
kind of cool.

And I knew that they wanted to buy more
and more of it.

I never had any plans to become a
dealer, but I was the only one that

up with a connection.

And the idea of doing what I wasn't
supposed to and taking the risk, that's

just me. I'm kind of rebellious that
way.

I called PJ the following week to buy a
batch.

We worked out a deal where I would bring
$5 ,000 cash for 50 grams of MDMA.

PJ wanted to meet on his territory,
someplace I'd never been before.

He was somebody that I really didn't
know.

I had this faint doubt.

Playing in the back of my mind that he
could be an undercover police officer.

And that everything was about to go
wrong.

But I went through with it.

The train station was just desolate.

PJ was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly I was super paranoid.

I just had this horrible sense that
there was somebody watching me.

This was way out of my comfort zone.

I had this incredible sense that I was
about to be set up in some sort of sting

operation.

That was PJ.

Hello, mate.

Hey, yeah.

Meet me at Bond Island.

He told me to meet him at a bar nearby.

See you there at five. Okay.

Got it.

There was a lot of fears going through
my mind about making that deal.

I've handed the money underneath the
counter.

He gave me a bag of MDMA.

It was actually several grams over what
it should have been.

It was exactly what I'd come for.

That first dealer set me on a new path
that would completely change my life.

Deciding to become a dealer probably
wasn't too smart, but the excitement and

thrill of that lifestyle was what I was
really yearning for.

Six months into living in Korea,
business really started taking off.

What do you want, beer?

Itaewon became like a second home to me.
Yep, five beers.

One of the bartenders, she and I had a
rapport immediately.

I want a beer too.

Too young, and I started a relationship.

She had a really terrific attitude.
She's a good -looking girl and loved to

a good time.

The MDMA process just started to get
more streamlined.

PJ had some really specialized ways of
getting it over to Korea from England.

He liked to do these hair -grooming
products for men.

He would conceal the drugs in those
packages.

I was now focused on how can I increase
this revenue.

Hey, I got something for you.

Too young about these empty capsules.

We found a $50 dose gave the average
human being a great night.

The capsules were a hit.

Money's just pouring in.

I was living a double life.

Teaching during the daytime.

and dealing late at night.

There was a lot of love.

It had been missing in my life for a
long time.

When I was growing up, my parents never
showed me pure love.

Life had not been this good in years.

So by now, I had plenty of people that
wanted to sell for me. DJ Carl. He

was definitely focused on selling lots
of drugs.

And then there was Jamie.

Jamie was one of the few people over
there that didn't have a teaching job.

But he was always working hard selling
drugs for me.

elevated me one level, one step away
from the street.

The business was making at least $10
,000 a week.

You're looking at $40 ,000, $50 ,000 a
month.

The biggest problem was what to do with
all the money.

There was limits on how much I could put
in the banks.

I bought a safe to keep the money in.

Filling that up with money and just
feeling kind of this twisted sense of

accomplishment.

I was just caught up in the moment,
thinking that I deserved this, you know,

that I was entitled to this.

I was now the main source of MDMA in

South Korea.

I felt powerful in a way that I'd never
felt before.

As each month went past, I kind of had
more of a sense of security.

I thought that I was smarter than
anybody out there, and I didn't think

captured.

But now, for me, it's pretty much just a
daily party.

So one night, Carl and I headed off to
Taiwan for the weekend.

We found a busy club.

We had a great night.

We stayed out partying until the sun
came up.

I remember by Sunday morning, I was
quite hungover.

I came over to check my laptop, and
there was an urgent message from Sue

I said, don't ever come back here. You
can never return to Korea.

Immediately, all these scenarios played
through my mind.

None of them good.

Hey, what happened? Are you okay?

No, I'm not okay.

Sue Young told me she just happened to
stop by the apartment that morning.

on her heels came in the police.

She said they had a hand -drawn map.

I

couldn't

believe it. Jamie had betrayed us.

I knew that Korean police would

pass the names onto some sort of
international list.

I bang on Carl's room.

Pack your bag.

The net was closing in on us.

They raided my apartment. Pack your
bags. We've got to leave now.

We're on the run.

Pick up, pick up.

If I try to get on an airplane, am I
going to get arrested?

Oh, hey, hey, two people. How much is
that going to be?

Sound good.

We ultimately decided to risk it and buy
a ticket to Thailand.

And that was my big mistake.

My primary

concern was getting through passport
control.

I was standing in line with Carl behind
me.

I was very nervous.

I was sure that the Korean police had
put out an international alert for us.

I remember feeling like I wanted to run.

The officer looked at my passport.

I just focused on my breathing and
staying calm.

Are you American?

Yeah, yeah.

American.

In that moment, I knew something was
wrong.

Attention, please.

For security reasons, please do not
leave your belongings unattended.

But then she just gave me back my
passport.

I couldn't believe it.

And we were both in just like that.

The plan was to not sell any drug.

to not break the law in any way, to
simply lay low for as long as it took.

I remember getting rid of all phones and
SIM cards and anything that could trace

me back to where I was.

Pattaya turned out to be one of the
sleazier parts of Thailand.

The first few weeks, we were just kind
of stuck in a holding pattern.

Even though there was plenty of things
to do, beaches, nightlife, none of it

satisfying.

There was a constant awareness that I
might need to run at any given time.

Having a narrow escape makes you kind of
appreciate what you have in life.

Even though I'd had troubles with my
parents, by this time it would have been

nice to see them.

My brother's the same.

But how could I tell them what's
happening?

That I was a wanted man.

That was really tough.

It really all added up to more than I
could bear.

After two months on the run, my whole
goal was to stay off the radar as much

possible. The problem was Carl wanted to
get back

in the game and start dealing.

I just felt like it was way too soon to
get back into that business.

He was always hammering it away at me.

And so eventually I let Carl talk me
into ordering a small shipment into

Thailand.

It seemed worth the risk, I suppose,
because it was kind of hard to earn a

living there in Pattaya.

I gave PJ a ring and told him what I
needed.

50 grams of MDMA shipped from the UK.

We're back in business.

I wanted to keep the drugs in an
alternate location, someplace nearby,

where I was sleeping.

Yeah, it's good. I'll take it. I rented
a room in a cheap hotel.

I thought. I told the clerk I didn't
have my passport with me and that I'd

it later.

Thank you.

I knew that Thai police were very, very
keen to trap foreigners with drugs.

I knew that there were harsh penalties.

So I found a loose pipe fitting behind
the sink, stuffed the drugs inside

that pipe and closed it up.

The system was in place.

Now Carl was eager to get back doing
what he did best

One

night

Carl got a call for some business and
that I'll be back in a minute

15 minutes later, he still wasn't back.

So I started getting curious what he was
doing.

Carl!

Hey, what's up, Jeff?

What's going on, man? What's taking so
long?

So I got your half right here.

You know what I mean? There you go, your
money.

Just after he handed me the money, the
police come out of nowhere.

There was nowhere to run.

That was where things took a big turn
for the worse.

I knew that whatever was coming, it
wasn't good.

I was still holding out a little hope.

They didn't catch me with any drugs.

All of it was back at the safe house.

Where are the drugs, Jesse?

I don't know what's going on here.

Another guy came down.

I was unable to defend myself.

The truth is, it

was torture.

And it went on for a long time.

And it was really brutal.

Where are the drugs, Jesse?

I figured if I could just hold out, and
if Carl could hold out, then we'd be all

right.

I don't know anything.

I wasn't giving that safe house up.

I had the fanny pack.

Inside it, there was a receipt from an
internet cafe.

And that had an address on it.

It was just a scrap of paper. I didn't
think it was going to result in

They took us to that internet cafe.

The employee clearly acknowledged, yes,
those two, we've seen it.

So we were tied to that location.

From there, we started going to every
hotel around the neighborhood.

They went systematically from one hotel
to the next.

Finally, they pulled up at...

the Stash House Motel.

There was only the one woman who had
seen my face a couple months prior.

We were just kind of hoping against hope
that she didn't recognize me.

But she didn't hesitate. She gave me up
right away.

They searched the room.

It took less than 90 seconds for them to
have the sink apart and have the drugs

come out of the pipe in the back.

They had a big bag of capsules, a 25
-gram bag of MDMA,

and a scale.

I thought I was clever enough not to get
caught, but... In that moment, I knew

that everything I lived for, drugs,
freedom, parties, it was all over.

Bombat Central Prison was foreboding.

They gave me some paperwork, but I
couldn't read any of it.

I just kept them with me.

It was then I heard the screaming.

They took Carl and I to different

cells.

I later learned that Carl was
transferred to a different prison.

I never saw him again.

When you get in that cell and they shut
the door, you really start to see how

terrible the living conditions were.

The toilet area was the only place I
could lay down.

It just seemed like it was a bad
nightmare and there was no way out.

I was entirely clueless as to how much
time I was facing.

There was one guy who spoke quite good
English.

Can you translate that?

He said, in Thailand, anything over 20
grams of MDMA gives you a life sentence.

But even worse than that, you got caught
with baggies, pills.

and a scale that's manufacturing anytime
you see that charge manufacture it's a

death penalty he looked at me and very

firmly said you're never going to leave
here you'll die here

I was unable to think about much else
other than the death penalty case.

What I needed to do was speak to the
American embassy in Thailand.

But I'd been there for weeks and hadn't
seen them.

I felt abandoned.

Prison life was tough.

There was rampant drug use.

And the food situation was bleak.

The people that worked in the food
department stole all the meat so they

keep it for themselves.

So there was this young kid. He worked
in the canteen.

And he would look out for me and share
his food.

How long have you been inside?

Maybe four years.

Four years.

That's a long time.

It doesn't take much when you're in
prison and you're really struggling.

You know, if somebody shows you any
kindness.

This kid, he did that quite often.

He was always quick to smile and just my
kind of guy.

His friendship was this bright sunshine
spot in the Thai prison.

About 45 days into my prison stay, I got
a letter from my family.

My brother Ben was letting me know that
he understood the choices I'd made maybe

weren't the best, but he forgave me, and
he loved me nonetheless.

That moment, it was just... It was like
this incredible clarity that, you know,

maybe I'll never see this kid again.

And there's, you know, there's so much
regret.

My parents and I have had a contentious
relationship all these years.

Now, facing the death penalty, I realize
that I had made a big mess of a lot of

people's lives through this whole drug
business.

One morning, this guy comes up to me.

I worked

out my friend had some sort of
altercation

in the cell.

He

was

a victim of somebody's foot.

in his chest.

Are you in pain?

No. No? Are you sure?

He was smiling and he wasn't in a lot of
pain.

Okay, it's okay. It's going to be okay.

I left him in the hospital room looking
for a doctor who could help.

When I came back, he was dead.

It turned out he had a broken rib that
pierced his lung.

It was a bright spot in my life.

To see him gone was devastating.

It took me back to the death of my
sister.

There's just so much anger, rage,
frustration, seeing people die that

didn't need to die.

It just felt like it was a matter of
time before something snapped.

On a loudspeaker, they said that I had a
visit.

And so I went to the visiting area.

On the other side of the glass was a
gentleman in a suit.

He was a Thai national, but working at
the American embassy in Thailand.

And I'd been there for weeks. They
hadn't contacted me. There was no

There was no acknowledgement that I was
there.

Where have you been?

Where have you been?

Suddenly, all the anger, it just all
poured out.

In that 90 -second tirade, I did a lot
of damage.

That was my one lifeline.

And now I'd totally blown it.

Get out of here.

It was probably one of the worst things
I could have done.

I'm facing the death penalty, and it was
a hard pill to swallow.

After that visit with Noom and the
American Embassy,

I had the time to kind of consider the
horrible

decision I'd made by yelling at him.

It occurred to me that maybe I could do
something worthwhile.

I just decided.

I was going to learn Thai.

So I started writing Noom one letter per
month.

The first letter I wrote to him was
maybe two or three sentences long.

Over the months and the years that
followed, the letters got a little

But Noom continued to ignore me.

Four years into my prison sentence,
something extraordinary happened.

My lawyers found a loophole in the law.

The three -judge panel decided to drop
the death penalty case.

They got my life sentence reduced to 27
years.

There's an elation. You know, hey, I'm
alive.

But you kind of look around and realize,
I got about 27 more years of this.

27 years is a long time to be locked up
in a cage.

One afternoon, a visit is called through
on the loudspeaker.

I didn't know who it was. I just knew
that I had a visit.

Behind the glass, there was Noom.

I was just dumbfounded.

And then he picked up my latest letter.

He held it up to the glass and said,
Jesse, you...

made so many mistakes with my language.

That was a... That was a joke, you know?
After I'd, you know,

yelled and cursed at this man four years
earlier.

The fact that he could joke with me and
he'd actually shown up on his own time

to, uh...

To chat with me.

Just showed that.

You know you can heal.

A broken relationship.

And.

Sorry.

We became friends that day.

I guess the last four years. I'd shown
enough care to learn his language.

And he was able to return that kindness.

I will try to help you.

It was like.

You know, relearning something that, you
know, a criminal is not capable of

doing, which is to care for other
people.

Please take care.

That visit taught me a lot.

It taught me the value of forgiveness.

I thought about my parents, how I blamed
them for Molly's death.

But now I came to realize they were
simply human beings doing the best that

could as well.

There was the level of forgiveness I was
able to give to them and to myself,

which really changed a lot in how I
perceive the world today.

Six months later, things were looking
up.

Noon told me the American government
might allow me to transfer back to the U

.S. and serve the remaining.

20 some odd years in my sentence in an
American prison.

A month later, my case was accepted.

After five years and two months, I
transferred back to the U .S. on May 23,

2013.

Luckily, the

U .S. government decided that one year
in a Thai prison is equivalent to about

six years in an American prison.

Today I run a marketing firm and a
podcast called Recovery Authors that

people overcome addictions of all sorts.

I think mom and dad were both relieved
to see the changes that prison brought

about in me.

I was really grateful to be home for the
last couple years of my mom's life. She

passed away last year, but I was able to
be here and be a friend to her.

Today, my dad and I are best friends.

We live about a mile apart, so I get to
see him all the time.

There's a lot of gratitude at being free
right now.