The FBI agent, thinking quickly, avoided eye contact with Cazes and walked straight through him to the door. In the few seconds it took for Cazes to cross the room, seemingly in slow motion, thoughts ran through Rabenn’s mind: How did Cazes know who they were? Or did they follow his footsteps? Or what hotel in Bangkok did they stay at? Is there a leak? Did they meet too conspicuously, blowing their opsec? Will this criminal mastermind get past them?
For a moment, Rabenn was expecting Cazes to sit down at their table, look smug, and say, as he imagined, “Damn, I know you’re here, and you won’t have anything. “
Rabenn realized that he didn’t know how he was going to respond. They could catch Cazes on the spot, but they would lose all hope of ever having access to his laptop or any smoking evidence of him controlling AlphaBay. Just when they were on the cusp of victory, it seemed their plan had failed.
“Oh, damn it,” Rabenn concluded quietly, in a state of empty panic. “This is over.”
Then, when Cazes was about five feet from their table, he turned and sat down at the table beside them, across from a pair of Israeli businessmen in suits and sweaters.
The Americans looked at each other confused. Moments later, the FBI agent returned and calmly sat down. He and Miller began silently signaling to the rest of the table that the others should leave.
Rabenn, regaining his composure, allowed the thought to cross his mind that perhaps all was not lost – that this was simply the most wonderful coincidence of his life.
Trying their best to act spontaneously, prosecutors cleared and headed up the curved stairs to the hotel’s mezzanine, while FBI agents and Miller returned to eavesdrop on Cazes’ conversation at the table. next to. Upstairs, Rabenn and Hemesath had a moment of wide-eyed relief. Text messages from the FBI and DEA agents still on the table began to arrive, reporting on the Cazes meeting: He was talking to the Israeli about one of his real estate investments. in the Caribbean.
When their panic subsided, they found that a group of Thai undercover police – including their leader, Colonel Pisal Erb-Arb, in plain clothes – had been stationed around another table in the hotel lobby. from Cazes and are secretly watching him, even taking pictures of each other stealthily with Cazes in the background. The founder of AlphaBay shows no sign of detecting them.
While Rabenn and Hemesath secretly rejoiced, the FBI agent accompanied them to the mezzanine floor and pulled out his phone. He started using Google, trying to calculate the odds of what just happened. Anyway, how many hotels are there in Bangkok? He quickly showed them the answer: There are thousands.
In a daze, the two prosecutors marvel at their strange collision – but not for long. In two days, they know their team will face Cazes again, this time with the most complicated arrest they’ve ever attempted.
Continuing next week: The takedown day has arrived. Operation Bayonet reached a kinetic climax. And then the case took a tragic turn.
This story is taken from the book Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for Crypto’s Crime Lords, now available from Doubleday.
If you buy something using the links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. looking for more information.
Chapter illustration: Reymundo Perez III
Image source: Getty Images
This article appeared in the December 2022/January 2023 issue. Follow now.
Let us know what you think about this article. Send a letter to the editor at mail@wired.com.
