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Recollections of a Racketeer: Smuggling Hash and Cash Around the World
"Brilliant! Outrageously entertaining and absurdly funny."
Howard Marks
"Dull? Never. Illegal? Of course. Gripping? Always."
Zoo
"Lane delivers an informative, interesting and surprising insight into his life as a smuggler… A knockout read."
Inside Time
Patrick Lane's obsession with drugs began in his early teens. Nineteenth-century French literature introduced him to a world of hashish, opium and absinthe, which he saw as a way of escaping his boring suburban English existence. Unable to find any hashish as a schoolboy in north London, he went to Morocco for supplies. Between school and university, he hitched around America in the mid-1960s, taking LSD with Timothy Leary. After teaming up with Howard Marks, they smuggled suitcases of hashish out of Afghanistan and Pakistan into Europe and VW campers filled with hashish from Lebanon into California.
During the course of his extraordinary career, he witnessed revolution in Afghanistan, an unsuccessful coup in Greece, the preservation of the monarchy in Nepal and illicit arms deals with Saddam Hussein. Along the way, he befriended Wall Street bankers, Mafia dons (and Oxford dons), hashish-eating goats, dissolute English lords and French peasants.
Recollections of a Racketeer is a rollicking and at times hilarious tale of a life lived on the wrong side of the law.
Howard Marks
"Dull? Never. Illegal? Of course. Gripping? Always."
Zoo
"Lane delivers an informative, interesting and surprising insight into his life as a smuggler… A knockout read."
Inside Time
Patrick Lane's obsession with drugs began in his early teens. Nineteenth-century French literature introduced him to a world of hashish, opium and absinthe, which he saw as a way of escaping his boring suburban English existence. Unable to find any hashish as a schoolboy in north London, he went to Morocco for supplies. Between school and university, he hitched around America in the mid-1960s, taking LSD with Timothy Leary. After teaming up with Howard Marks, they smuggled suitcases of hashish out of Afghanistan and Pakistan into Europe and VW campers filled with hashish from Lebanon into California.
During the course of his extraordinary career, he witnessed revolution in Afghanistan, an unsuccessful coup in Greece, the preservation of the monarchy in Nepal and illicit arms deals with Saddam Hussein. Along the way, he befriended Wall Street bankers, Mafia dons (and Oxford dons), hashish-eating goats, dissolute English lords and French peasants.
Recollections of a Racketeer is a rollicking and at times hilarious tale of a life lived on the wrong side of the law.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2009
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About the author
Patrick Lane
1 book1 followerPatrick Lane was born in London in 1946. He was found guilty of drug-smuggling in 1988 and served two years in prison in the US. Now a full-time writer, he divides his time between France and America.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 23, 2014
Recollections of a Racketeer landed on my "to read" pile thanks to Marcus Scriven, (who I see is mentioned in the acknowledgements section). As a gifted writer, I take Scriven's recommendations seriously and having read Recollections, I see why he encouraged the author - who became Howard Mark's brother-in-law and "partner" - to share his experiences with us. The worlds of hash smuggling and money laundering are alien to me but the book opens a door and I'm pleased I stepped inside. If good writing is about broadening horizons, challenging mindsets and vicariously sharing experiences then Recollections scores highly in all three areas.
It's also well written and amusing: I loved the way the ex-US marines, who were hired as muscle, were easily persuaded (courtesy of the Bronx-Gorbals language barrier) that they were in Norway when in fact they were in Scotland. Hilarious! The book's also honest and sympathetic (the author explains his deep respect for the police) while avoiding the twin traps of self-justification and sentimentality. For reasons elegantly presented, Lane was drawn to a lifestyle that mixed excitement with rebellion and you can understand why. We've never met but I soon found myself liking him.
Recollections describes a very different world. A sort of half-way house between Robin Hood and CSI and it's a charming world for that. It's full of clever psychological insights too, like allowing the custom's official a minor victory and he'll be so pleased he won't go through your luggage... and other gems that have relevance for all of us.
A thoughtful, excellent read - I recommend it.
It's also well written and amusing: I loved the way the ex-US marines, who were hired as muscle, were easily persuaded (courtesy of the Bronx-Gorbals language barrier) that they were in Norway when in fact they were in Scotland. Hilarious! The book's also honest and sympathetic (the author explains his deep respect for the police) while avoiding the twin traps of self-justification and sentimentality. For reasons elegantly presented, Lane was drawn to a lifestyle that mixed excitement with rebellion and you can understand why. We've never met but I soon found myself liking him.
Recollections describes a very different world. A sort of half-way house between Robin Hood and CSI and it's a charming world for that. It's full of clever psychological insights too, like allowing the custom's official a minor victory and he'll be so pleased he won't go through your luggage... and other gems that have relevance for all of us.
A thoughtful, excellent read - I recommend it.
October 16, 2017
I personally found it quite heavy going, a bit self-indulgent and rambly. The first half in particular jumps all over the place with no discernible rhythm and can get quite repetitive. The structure definitely improved towards the end of the book but by then it was sadly too late for me. On the other hand, I wasn't expecting it to be as 'memoiry' as it was, so that probably had a big impact on how I approached it.
September 3, 2024
Fantastic read of an era bygone.
December 20, 2012
I wanted a change of direction and decided on an easy read. Easy reads can always be found with gangsters and their biographies. Patrick Lane, the autobiographer here, was a hash smuggler and a money launderer operating in the late 1960's to early 1980's. He was closely alligned and worked with Howard Marks. Anyone who read or watch the film of Howard Marks, Mr Nice, will know that if there is such a thing as victimless crime, he got as close as he could to it. The gang would only deal in marijuana, nothing harder. This is not easy grass for hash is big and bulky, compared to powdered drugs. There is little opportunity to cut it, as opposed to powders. Furthermore, even on one occasion when they were robbed of a large quantity of hash, the gang avoided violence.
It seems the gang of smugglers were adventurers, more interested in the hobby of inventing elaborate ways to get the ganga in the UK or anywhere than the money it provided. Examples of smuggling operations were, telling a Scottish village on a loch they were filming a movie to cover for a boat coming in laden with hippies delight. Lights and cameras were used as props. Other occasions, rock stars were inadvertantly used (or maybe the Rolling Stones just turned a blind eye) with hash blocks smuggled inside sound systems.
Also I was constantly finding myself with a smile reading of his travel exploits. Finding himself in places like Greece at the time of the failed military coup. Afghanistan when it was still about hippies and dancing naked virgins, and not bearded men firing AK47s with their breakfast.
Patrick also doesn't seem to glamourise his life, he says that while he was surrounded by money all the time he often had little assets. He lived for 2 decades as an illegal immigrant or a fugitive. With that status, there are no rights as an individual. He speaks of the reality of money laundering. Carrying a suitcase full of notes is difficult enough, but to detract suspicion this must be done as if the contents are only feathers. He also speaks about the regrets. His loss of contact with his father. The pain and instability he put on his family. He doesn't try to justify, but just tells his story. A 60 year old when he wrote it, I think he was trying to come to terms with his life. He also concedes that drugs today, even hash is not the same as back 'in the day'. As with meat and vegetables we consume, grass is grown under intensive farming techniques, artificially heightening the strength and meaning that todays grass smoking is more harmful. Which makes me think, won't it be a matter of time before Monsanto realises this and lobbies Congress.
It seems the gang of smugglers were adventurers, more interested in the hobby of inventing elaborate ways to get the ganga in the UK or anywhere than the money it provided. Examples of smuggling operations were, telling a Scottish village on a loch they were filming a movie to cover for a boat coming in laden with hippies delight. Lights and cameras were used as props. Other occasions, rock stars were inadvertantly used (or maybe the Rolling Stones just turned a blind eye) with hash blocks smuggled inside sound systems.
Also I was constantly finding myself with a smile reading of his travel exploits. Finding himself in places like Greece at the time of the failed military coup. Afghanistan when it was still about hippies and dancing naked virgins, and not bearded men firing AK47s with their breakfast.
Patrick also doesn't seem to glamourise his life, he says that while he was surrounded by money all the time he often had little assets. He lived for 2 decades as an illegal immigrant or a fugitive. With that status, there are no rights as an individual. He speaks of the reality of money laundering. Carrying a suitcase full of notes is difficult enough, but to detract suspicion this must be done as if the contents are only feathers. He also speaks about the regrets. His loss of contact with his father. The pain and instability he put on his family. He doesn't try to justify, but just tells his story. A 60 year old when he wrote it, I think he was trying to come to terms with his life. He also concedes that drugs today, even hash is not the same as back 'in the day'. As with meat and vegetables we consume, grass is grown under intensive farming techniques, artificially heightening the strength and meaning that todays grass smoking is more harmful. Which makes me think, won't it be a matter of time before Monsanto realises this and lobbies Congress.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews