Government agencies and rival factions were closing in. His look-alike had already fallen victim to professional hitmen and his once-powerful allies in Cuban intelligence and the DEA could no longer guarantee his safety. How did a boy from Manchester revolutionise the criminal world and become the largest marijuana trafficker in American history?


This is the never-before-told story of Harold Derber, the debonair British Merchant Navy veteran who pioneered the modern drug trade with his groundbreaking invention: the drug mothership. Through his ghost fleet of drug ships, Derber eventually became the chief supplier of marijuana to post-war America. This gripping true tale follows Derber from humble beginnings in Manchester, England, to his assassination in the sun-kissed streets of Miami. Along the way, Derber's story takes in some of the most significant events of the twentieth century - the Second World War's Battle of the Atlantic, the Cuban Revolution and the murky shadows of the Cold War.


Based on newly declassified government files, undercover photographs, an unpublished memoir, and first-hand accounts from both Derber's trafficking accomplices and the agents who pursued them, The Wireless Operator reveals the astonishing origins of the modern narcotics trade. Bringing his extraordinary life into focus for the first time, this gripping transatlantic tale offers a complex portrait of a singular criminal mastermind who operated at the fault lines of state power, secrecy, and organized crime - and whose legacy still echoes in today's global war on drugs.

"David Tuch brings the remarkable story of Harold Derber - refugee, gun-runner, ethical people smuggler and revolutionary drug-trafficker - out of the shadows. And what a tale it is: an extraordinary life of adventure (and misadventure), and a rollicking good read." - Tim Tate, author of To Catch a Spy

"A rollicking read, full of grit and hard-won truths. Derber is truly one of the greatest criminals we've never heard of - until now." - Patrick Winn, author of Narcotopia

"An impressively well-researched and fascinating book about the Cold War, Cuba, Miami, spooks, spies, guns, drugs, and, general chaos." - Vince Houghton, intelligence historian and co-author of Covert City: The Cold War and the Making of Miami

"David Tuch has unearthed a true story so bizarre that nobody would blame his readers for not believing that this is non-fiction. The protagonist, Harold Derber, transforms from a good Manchester boy to a daring pioneer of the drug trade in such improbable ways that it all feels like a feverish dream." - Lina Britto, Department of History, Northwestern University, author of Marijuana Boom: The Rise and Fall of Colombia's First Drug Paradise

"A propulsive and illuminating biography. Tuch's deep dive is suspenseful and well researched, shedding fascinating light on a shadowy 20th-century figure." - Publishers Weekly

"'An incredibly exciting and twisted story of a larger-than-life figure. The author has done a terrific job pinpointing the rise and fall of a fascinating character." - Justin Black, host of Spycraft 101 podcast