13) Russia's Murder Lab

Summary

Podcast Summary: To Die For – Episode 13: Russia's Murder Lab

Introduction

In Episode 13 of To Die For, titled "Russia's Murder Lab," host Neil Strauss delves deep into the sinister world of Russian intelligence and its pervasive use of poison as a tool for espionage and assassination. This episode unravels the intricate operations of Russian spies, highlighting their psychological manipulation, the blurred lines between loyalty and coercion, and the shadowy tactics employed to eliminate threats both domestically and internationally.

Alia’s Undercover Mission

The episode centers around Alia Roza, a professed "sex spy," who navigates the treacherous landscape of Russian intelligence. Sent undercover to infiltrate the drug trafficking operations led by Vladimir, Alia's mission is fraught with personal and professional challenges.

• Initial Doubts and Emotional Struggles

  Early in her mission, Alia grapples with her emotional well-being. At [02:13], she reflects:

  "Ever since I'd been sent to Chechnya as punishment for rejecting my commander's advances, I've constantly told myself that I didn't want to live anymore. But suddenly, I stopped saying this. Now, I seem to want to live. The problem is that I've finally found my happiness on the wrong side of the law."

  This internal conflict highlights the psychological toll of deep-cover operations, where spies often lose their sense of self and morality.

Infiltrating Vladimir’s World

Alia meticulously builds her persona to gain Vladimir's trust. Her efforts lead her to Vladimir's residence, where she uncovers substantial evidence of his illicit activities.

• Discovering the Extent of Corruption

  While searching Vladimir's home, Alia stumbles upon a room filled with cash and an arsenal of weapons. At [04:52], she describes her findings:

  "There were huge black trash bags full of cash, and automatic Kalashnikov guns lined up. I even got jealous because the aim is just perfect. It's a perfect gun."

  This discovery underscores the vast resources and lethal capabilities within Vladimir’s operations.

• Building Trust Through Seduction

  To further her infiltration, Alia employs psychological tactics, including seduction. At [07:56], she uses a specially formulated perfume to create a lasting impression on Vladimir:

  "I sprayed it on the pillow so every time he would go to sleep, he would remember me by my smell."

  This strategic move enhances her rapport with Vladimir, making him more susceptible to sharing critical information.

Collaborating with Sasha and Unveiling Corruption

Alia's liaison with her colleague Sasha becomes pivotal as the mission progresses. Initially supportive, Sasha later reveals discrepancies in their operation, hinting at possible internal corruption.

• Sasha’s Revelation and Suspicion

  At [31:20], Alia discusses how Sasha informs her about inconsistencies:

  "The report was changed by him. Instead of 4 kilos, it only showed a few grams because he took the heroin for himself."

  This revelation suggests that their mission might be compromised from within, adding another layer of danger for Alia.

Expert Insights: The Deadly Art of Poisoning

Interwoven with Alia’s narrative are expert interviews that shed light on Russia's notorious use of poison in espionage.

• Matt Tipton on Poison as a Tool of Terror

  Military veteran and chemical weapons expert Matt Tipton explains the strategic advantages of using poison:

  "Poison sends a message. It’s a cheap way to eliminate someone and instills a psychological fear among enemies."

  At [20:12], Tipton emphasizes how poisoning serves both operational and psychological warfare purposes, making it a favored method for Russian intelligence.

• Historical Context and Cases

  The episode references high-profile poisoning cases, such as the assassination attempts on Alexei Navalny and the journalist Amy Knight. At [21:33], Amy Knight recounts her suspicious illness in Moscow:

  "I had terrible stomach issues after lunch, and I wondered whether someone had slipped something into my food to warn me."

  These real-world incidents illustrate the pervasive threat posed by state-sponsored poisonings.

Russian Legislative Support for Assassinations

Dr. Yuri Faustinsky, a Russian historian, provides insights into the legal frameworks that enable these lethal tactics.

• Legal Sanctions on Assassinations

  Faustinsky explains the Russian government's rationale behind extrajudicial killings:

  "The Russian parliament passed laws allowing special services to kill enemies of the state abroad."

  At [26:42], he details the criteria under which individuals are targeted without trial, reinforcing the state's covert operations against perceived threats.

Alia’s Ethical and Emotional Dilemma

As Alia grows closer to Vladimir, she faces a profound ethical conflict. Her developing feelings challenge her objective as an operative, leading to intense emotional turmoil.

• Struggling with Loyalty and Mission

  At [34:23], Alia contemplates:

  "I wanted to understand if he was truly involved in these heinous activities or if there was more to his story."

  This introspection highlights the human aspect of espionage, where personal emotions can complicate professional duties.

The Collapse of the Operation

Tensions escalate when Sasha reveals missing heroin from the evidence locker, suggesting possible sabotage or self-interest. Alia faces the dilemma of whether to trust her corrupted colleague or to take matters into her own hands.

• Confronting Internal Betrayal

  At [42:00], Alia expresses her frustration:

  "Sasha could not be trusted, and I had to ensure the mission's success despite the risks."

  This moment underscores the fragile nature of undercover operations, where allies might turn into adversaries.

Conclusion and Teaser for Next Episode

As Episode 13 concludes, Alia prepares to confront Vladimir about the missing evidence, setting the stage for heightened conflict and deeper exploration into Russia's “murder lab.” The episode promises to delve further into the intricate web of espionage, poison tactics, and the personal cost of undercover missions in the upcoming installment.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Alia on Her Emotional State:

  "The problem is that I've finally found my happiness on the wrong side of the law."
  [02:13]

• Discovery of Cash and Weapons:

  "There were huge black trash bags full of cash, and automatic Kalashnikov guns lined up. I even got jealous because the aim is just perfect. It's a perfect gun."
  [04:52]

• Use of Perfume for Seduction:

  "I sprayed it on the pillow so every time he would go to sleep, he would remember me by my smell."
  [07:56]

• Matt Tipton on Poison as Psychological Warfare:

  "Poison sends a message. It’s a cheap way to eliminate someone and instills a psychological fear among enemies."
  [20:12]

• Amy Knight’s Suspicious Illness:

  "I had terrible stomach issues after lunch, and I wondered whether someone had slipped something into my food to warn me."
  [21:33]

• Dr. Faustinsky on Legal Justifications:

  "The Russian parliament passed laws allowing special services to kill enemies of the state abroad."
  [26:42]

• Alia's Confrontation with Corruption:

  "Sasha could not be trusted, and I had to ensure the mission's success despite the risks."
  [42:00]

Final Thoughts

Episode 13 of To Die For masterfully intertwines the gripping narrative of Alia’s undercover mission with insightful expert analyses on Russian espionage tactics. Through personal stories and historical contexts, Neil Strauss paints a vivid picture of the dark and manipulative world of Russian intelligence, leaving listeners eagerly anticipating the unfolding of Alia’s perilous journey in the subsequent episodes.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Of to Die for are available now.

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[Alia]

But for ad free listening and exclusive.

[Narrator]

Bonuses, subscribe to Tenderfoot plus at tenderfootplus.com.

Or on Apple Podcasts.

[Warning Voice]

Warning the following episode contains explicit language and sexual themes. Listener discretion is advised.

[Alia]

Can I ask you, when you talk about Vladimir, it's different than when you talk about other targets in the past?

[Narrator]

Absolutely.

[Alia]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

He was special.

[Alia]

And when I'm listening from my position, it sounds not just like a target, but it sounds like there's a romantic feeling when you're describing him.

[Narrator]

No, I honestly, I liked him. I liked his personality. Whoever, like, say to me about Vladimir that, oh, he's a killer, he's a murderer, he's a criminal. But I've seen by myself, like how he, he was so respectful to other people and like, just honest. He was justice.

[Alia]

I realize as Alia is speaking, that ever since she'd been sent to Chechnya as punishment for rejecting her commander's advances, she's constantly told me that she didn't want to live anymore. But suddenly she stopped saying this. Now she seems to want to live. The problem is that she's finally found her happiness on the wrong side of the law. It kind of sounds like to me like you're getting lost in the role.

[Narrator]

You know, when I was sitting in the car with all these guys, Vladimir in front, and all of them, they were armed and they have a lot of cash in their pockets and a big black car with this like crazy loud music and I felt I'm like in a movie. I live another life, which I never had before. And I never even knew that this life may possibly exist.

[Vladimir]

I had to kill you. I'm really sorry. I had to do it. Gotta go on my own. You didn't guess the behind. I was holding my gown. I got you. I tell you. I had to kill you. Was it so much fun?

[Alia]

Episode 13 Chapter 28 Lost in the Role.

[Narrator]

I stand up slowly so he wouldn't wake up. I didn't go downstairs because I didn't know exactly where these guys were sleeping. But upstairs on the second floor, Aaliyah's.

[Alia]

Mission was succeeding all too well. She was now at the home of her target, Vladimir, who had just fallen asleep. This gave her the opportunity to search his home and discover any potential evidence that could take down the drug trafficking and extortion gang at Vladimir running. It also gave her a very good opportunity to get caught.

[Narrator]

I wanted to see what was there. One room was just bedroom. I quickly checked the wardrobe and everything. It was just empty bedroom. And I opened the door of another room and I saw like so far and a big wardrobe near to the wardrobe. There were like huge black trash bags. So I walked and I slowly opened it and I saw that it was full of cash. Lots of, lots of money in these black trash bags. I've never seen anything like that. I was shocked. And then I opened the wardrobe and I saw automatic Kalashnikov guns just like in the line. And I saw some TTE guns as well. And I kind of like even got jealous because it was expensive and the aim is just perfect. It's a perfect gun. I walked outside and I went to the door which was on the corner, and I opened the door and it was kind of like an office because it was a table there, a big map on the wall. And I saw there was like some little pins on the map of the city. There's a lot of papers on the table.

[Alia]

Worried that she'd been out of the bedroom too long and might get caught searching the house, Alia decided to return to Vladimir's room. However, as she's about to walk inside, Vladimir opened the door.

[Narrator]

Vladimir just walked out of the bedroom and he said, where have you been? I woke up and you were not in the bedroom. I said, I'm so thirsty, I don't know where to find water. He said, oh, I'll bring you tomorrow. Go to bed, it's fine. And I was thinking, oh my God, he almost caught me. If he would walk around the house and see me in that different, like, doors checking everything, he could kill me that moment. Straight away, I didn't sleep at all. All night I was thinking about what I'm doing next and what should I report exactly to my commander.

[Alia]

Alia had discovered, no doubt, much to her relief, that there was some evidentiary benefit to spending more time in Vladimir's home. In order to help ensure that she'd be invited back that morning, she tried one last seduction gambit. In her bag, she had a small vial of a perfume that she'd learned to formulate in her seduction training.

[Narrator]

I sprayed on the pillow. So every time he would go to his pillow and sleep there, he will remember me like, remember my smell. And I said to him, well, I have to go home because I have to study and my lesson starts very soon. And I walk outside. And then his security drove me home. I came back home and I called to Sasha. I just said that, listen, we need to meet, and I will explain you everything in person.

[Alia]

Later that day, Aaliyah left her apartment in case she was being followed. She walked to the university campus where she claimed to be studying. There, she waited for her colleague in the fskn, Sasha to arrive. They met at a table in the student common area, and she filled them in on her progress the night before.

[Narrator]

I told him everything. And he said, if he would caught you, like in the night, do you understand what he would do to you? I said, like, I know. And he's like, please be careful. Don't do this again. Listen, for now, just try to be close to him as you can. Listen to his conversations, listen to his telephone calls. And he said that you should start to bring more information about next places of heroin supplies. I said, okay, I'll do my best, but just in the beginning, give me some time. And I went back through the university, and then I returned to my house. So just in case, I tried to make it look like I was really a student there.

[Alia]

That night, around 10, she received a text from Vladimir.

[Narrator]

He said to me, how are you, beautiful? I'm thinking about you. Well, I knew that he was thinking about me because the smell was there.

[Alia]

He invited her out that night, but she said she needed to stay home and get her homework done.

[Narrator]

So I thought, it's good that I didn't come straight away the minute he called me, because in this case, I show him that I'm not so desperate about our communication and so needy.

[Alia]

A few days later, her colleague Sasha called. He said that the team had decided that she should try to get photos of the map and paper she'd seen.

[Narrator]

The next morning, he Brought me a small, little, tiny camera, which I could put to my purse. And he brought me a wire as well. The wire which you basically put into the room, and you can hear it on the distance. And I had to put this device somewhere where people would hang out the most. So I thought that it would be better to put this device into the dining kitchen area rather than to his office.

[Alia]

Alia's plan was to cook dinner for Vladimir and his friends as a way to get some alone time in the kitchen and plant the bug.

[Narrator]

First of all, they say, if you wanted your man fall in love, you need to cook for him. And I got some potatoes, some tomatoes, I got some meat. Then the driver came, and I brought the bag with the food with me. And they were finishing some conversations while I was cooking. So I searched the kitchen very well. I only found a good place, which was underneath the vase. There was no flowers or something, but there were, like, some kind of, like, decoration. So I put this device inside in the vase, like, in the very bottom. And then I put back this decoration. And then the next task was to photograph all the important papers in his office. I served the table, and I call everybody and say, like, the food is served. And while they were eating, I was standing and just, like, looking at them and thinking, okay, so if they eat it so they trust me that I wouldn't poison them.

[Alia]

After dinner, Vladimir took Aleeyah upstairs. On the way, she asked for a tour of the house.

[Narrator]

So he opened every door, and he showed me, oh, this is, like, the bedroom. He even showed me the room where I saw these bags of cash, but they were not there anymore. And then he said, this is my office. He didn't open it. And I said, I would love to see the place where you work, and I would love to learn more about it, too. He opened the door, and then I said, like, oh, that's where, like, the whole magic happens. And I said, oh, wow, this table is so solid. Do you think it can handle us both? He's like, what do you mean? And I started to kiss him. And then I went into the position where he can take me from behind, where I was leaning at the table. So in this case, I could see the map, and I could see exactly where it was. And it wasn't too dark, so I could read numbers, streets, names on the papers. And when he was taking me from behind, I was looking at the table and, like, just trying to read this, like, you know, names on it and what. What exactly was there? I couldn't remember. Everything. But I remembered some names.

[Alia]

The next morning, Vladimir's driver brought Alia home. Shortly afterward, she walked to the university in case she was being watched and waited for her colleague Sasha to arrive.

[Narrator]

He said, since you installed the microphone like the back, let's just see what will happen, and then we'll give you more details. And he asked me for pictures, which I didn't do. And I told him, listen, I didn't do it because it was not possible that time, but I'll do it later. But for now, I gave him names and I gave him addresses.

[Alia]

Sasha and his team researched this information and got back to Alia with the news. These properties were in the exact same area that Aaliyah had seen on her first horrible mission with the fskn.

[Narrator]

He checked the streets and these buildings. He said, it's exactly where we were like having our operation. Exactly. In some houses there, we saw all these overdose young kids and teenagers. And there were the places where were sex slavery, prostitution, basically where also they sold some heroines. At Vladimir's map, there were, like, three pins in that area.

[Alia]

I asked Alia how she felt, knowing that the target she was developing feelings for was complicit in the horrible things she'd seen. Even if he was just taking protection money from the traffickers, I knew that.

[Narrator]

He was my target. And I knew I was doing this for my job, my mission, my country, for those kids who were killed and overdosed and kidnapped for human trafficking. I knew all that. I just wanted to. I wanted to succeed in my mission. But at the same time, I just wanted to understand, is he really so much deeply involved in that?

[Alia]

Sasha told Aaliyah that if she wanted answers and to complete her mission, it was important to get the photos he'd asked for of all the documents in Vladimir's office. When Alia explained that she was worried that Vladimir would wake up and find her there, Sasha came up with this solution.

[Narrator]

He said, why don't you do it while he will be sleeping, like, really, really deep. And I said to him, like, so how are you supposed to do it? And he said, like, just give him. Just give him some sleeping pills. And I was like, okay, which one? He said, like, next time I'll give you some good sleeping pills. It just, like, kills you for, like, 10 hours straight.

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[Alia]

Don't worry. We'll get you taken care of.

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[Alia]

Chapter 29 Two friends.

[Matt Tipton]

What city do you live in?

[Alia]

I'm in Los Angeles.

[Matt Tipton]

If I didn't like you and I found you in Los Angeles and stabbed you on the sidewalk, I would immediately have heat on me.

[Alia]

I'm speaking with Matt Tipton, an Army Ranger veteran and internal medicine doctor trained in chemical and radiological weapons response. I'll explain why in a second, but first let's listen a little more.

[Matt Tipton]

In minutes, somebody's gonna find you and they're gonna see that you've been stabbed and they're gonna do what's called a geofence. And they're gonna look at what cell phones were in that little area at the time. So they're gonna nail me. But if you have a drunken interaction with a guy outside a bar and he shoves you or coughs on you or smears something on, you're like, gross, that guy's hand was wet and you don't think anything of it. And then you don't feel sick for 48 hours and you don't get really sick for 72 more hours after that, you're not going to immediately say, hey, I bet that strange guy that bumped into me outside the restaurant poisoned me. So it's a way for the spy to get into country. Do that, and then they go to the airport, you know, decon themselves, take an antidote if there's one needed.

[Alia]

Aaliyah has talked often about poisons, about sleeping pills, and about so called truth serums. So I decided to speak to a few experts to get a better understanding of one of the most sinister aspects of Russian intelligence, its deadly use of chemical compounds to silence its enemies around the world. Why does this seem to be such a common Russian state security tactic that it's in the news all the time?

[Matt Tipton]

Poison sends a message. And it gives you a way to put more time between you and the victim before there's a body involved. It's a cheap way to do it. And it's also terrifying if you're actively speaking out against Putin and you start to get a tummy ache. You're like, is this it? Am I dying? It's a psychological warfare aspect to it, and it's cheaper than a Predator drone with a satellite guided missile.

[Alia]

As an example of the intimidating psychological effect that Matt Tipton is talking about, this is journalist Amy Knight, author of several books critical of the Putin regime, most recently the Kremlin's Noose.

[Warning Voice]

In the early 2000s, I wrote for the Globe and Mail fairly regularly, and I was terribly, terribly critical of Mr. Putin. And at some point, the Russian Embassy phoned up the Globe and Mail and said that they were going to kick their journalist who was in Moscow out of the country and they were going to do all sorts of repercussions if Amy Knight didn't stop writing about Putin.

[Alia]

Amy Knight was eventually banned from entering Russia. But before that, while she was in Moscow, something strange happened to her that she still wonders about.

[Warning Voice]

I was writing about Boris Nemtsov. I spoke with him.

[Amy Knight]

Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic.

[Alia]

Of Vladimir Putin, is shot dead on.

[Amy Knight]

A bridge in the shadow of the Kremlin.

[Warning Voice]

Second to last day that I was there, I had lunch with my research assistant, who was Russian, at the hotel. And about three hours later, I got so violently ill that I just couldn't do anything. Just, you know, terrible stomach issues. And I was able to get myself on the plane a couple days later. But that stomach thing took a long time to go away and they couldn't figure out why. I, you know, had this terrible stomach thing. And I was thinking to myself that, you know, it unlikely that it was like standard food poisoning in a very upmarket hotel like the Marriott with lots of foreign tourists. And after that, I wondered whether somebody had slipped something into my food, not to kill me, but to warn me.

[Alia]

So poisoning doesn't just work for eliminating a specific political target. It also creates fear and uncertainty in every other enemy and potential enemy.

[Warning Voice]

I haven't really mentioned that in any of my writings because it's speculative and, you know, it could have just been bad luck. But I do wonder.

[Alia]

Poisons, of course, have been used throughout history for political ends, taking down kings, emperors, religious leaders and philosophers. But why, I asked journalist Amy Knight, does Russia seem to employ this method more than any other country in modern times?

[Warning Voice]

In Russia, this seems to be the method of choice if you want to assassinate someone either within the country or abroad. The Russians started way back when, in the Soviet period, what they called a secret poison lab. They have a technical expertise that has continued and been passed on. And the original poison lab was set up under Stalin secret police, and it continued on through the kgb. And now, of course, there are secret laboratories that belong to the fsb.

[Narrator]

The poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has taken an even more bizarre turn. A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Navalny has accidentally revealed how he was poisoned in August. The agent, a member of an elite toxins team in Russia's FSB security service, said the lethal nerve agent Novichuk was planted in Navalny's underwear. You heard that right. Underwear.

[Alia]

One of the experts who's perhaps been the closest to an actual poisoning is Dr. Yuri Faustinsky. We'll get into that exact story in the next episode. But for Now, I called Dr. Faustinsky, a leading Russian historian and author, to better understand why, literally, part of the core curriculum for an FSB agent is learning the use and concealment of poisons.

[Amy Knight]

Now, drugs, of course, have great advantage, number one, and this is extremely important. It gives you time to escape. And for example, if we take recent poisonings in case of Litvinenko, who was poisoned, and in case of Skripal, who.

[Alia]

Was poisoned, both of these are former FSB agents who were poisoned in England for betraying Putin. One survived along with his daughter, who was also poisoned, the other didn't.

[Amy Knight]

Those people who poisoned him had time to escape back to Russia, while, for example, Mr. Khreshikov, who killed Chechen military leader in Berlin in the middle of the day using gun, was arrested. Or those people who killed former president of the Chechen Republic Zilim Khan Yendarbiev in Qatar using bomb, they successfully killed him, but they were arrested. So you see, this is the advantage when you poison a person. But number two, it is not always known that the person is poisoned. We know some, of course, in some cases, but in some other cases, who knows, maybe we even do not know why the person was found dead. And there are some questionable deaths in London as well, where we still do not know know why the person actually left his life and was found dead. So this is the advantage and that's why they're using it successfully, considering all.

[Alia]

These poisonings, not to mention shootings and bombings. And we didn't even mention the Putin critic who fell to his death out of a hotel window. I tell Dr. Faustinsky that this is a lot of assassinations. His answer, to my surprise, is to explain to me that it's the law.

[Amy Knight]

The Russian parliament passed, the law which allowed Russian special services to kill enemies of the state abroad.

[Alia]

I asked Dr. Faustinsky how the Russian government determines whether someone should be assassinated without a trial or arrested and put on trial. And here's his answer.

[Amy Knight]

They kill, I have to say, in three cases. The first case is when the person commits treason from the point of view of the government. And this is a case of both Litvinenko and Skripal. For example, the same was true about that helicopter pilot who was recently killed in Spain. Prior to this, he defected to Ukraine with his helicopter. Case number two, when people are coming pitting for power against Putin, and in this case they kill preventively. And this is an order of, for example, Boris Nemtsov, who was killed right at the walls of Kremlin. And the same is true, of course, about Alexei Navalny, who was killed because he was competing for presidential power. And the third case, I think when it's connected to big money, then we're probably going back to the mafia aspect of political life in Russia. But yes, when Ligmania is involved, we see usually some killings.

[Alia]

Clearly, Russian intelligence is a deadly world that operates by its own rules, which sound a lot closer to the code of the Vori, the mafia, than that of an elected government. Even Aliya, who was working on what she felt was the right side of the law, had already been involved in a possible poisoning. We'll go deeper into Russia's poison factory next episode. But for now, let's return to Alia's experiences with these chemical agents.

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[Vladimir]

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[Alia]

Ilia had just been asked to administer sleeping pills to her target, Vladimir. She agreed to the mission, but first asked for more time to build trust with Vladimir and his gang before taking the risk and potentially blowing the operation. After all, the FSB agents who poisoned Ivalny had supposedly been following him for years.

[Narrator]

I said to Sasha, I said, I need more time to just like literally become his right hand and I would need like at least a month to do that. He said, like, well, you have time as long as you give us places of the distribution. There is like one technique which agents use sometimes when they try to infiltrate like, you know, big circles. The technique calls like shadow. So in this technique you had to be really invisible for everyone. But if like Vladimir needs something, I'm there, always ready to do what he wants. So I had to make myself to be like a shadow of Vladimir so everybody would start to feel that, okay, so where is Vladimir? There's his girl.

[Alia]

But as Alia spent more time with Vladimir and his fellow gang members, there was one person she couldn't win over. Vladimir's old friend, the gangster who was always looking at her in the club with cold, dispassionate eyes.

[Narrator]

Even I knew some techniques, NLP techniques and everything. For me, it was super difficult to establish connection with him. I just couldn't. And he was always remaining silence and he always gave me this very kind of like disgusting feeling. And then through the conversation, I understood that he was the one who was controlling the whole distribution. All these tones of heroines coming from Afghanistan to Russia at that time.

[Alia]

As the weeks passed and Alia and Vladimir began to go on proper dates and even take short trips together, he began to trust her and open up more. Eventually Alia was able to find out more about this silent, ominous friend.

[Narrator]

Eventually, slowly, slowly, but he opened up and he told me his story. So he was sent to Afghanistan war and it was a moment where he met this guy with shark eyes, this cold guy. And apparently they were in the same troop and that's how they met. And he said to me that I trust him so much because he literally saved my life.

[Alia]

After leaving the army, Vladimir's friend became part of an operation smuggling heroin from Afghanistan to Russia on military airplanes. Meanwhile, Vladimir joined the police where, like Alia, he was disappointed to find extensive corruption and very few financial opportunities for a low ranking officer. Soon he found better opportunities on the other side of law.

[Narrator]

So when Vladimir started to go to the gym and he, he, he met some of criminal members of the gang at that time. And then eventually Vladimir just basically was recruited into the same gang. He said that I wanted to help my mom. She was sick. My father was like, you know, just drinking every day. And he started from the very low position, kind of like a soldier in the gang. But he gained a lot of respect from others, and eventually he was actually crowned to becoming a boss of others. Then his army friend approached him again, and he said, listen, I have one business which your criminal gang would be happy to collaborate. And that's how he brought the heroin supplies from Afghanistan to the gang.

[Alia]

As she spoke with Vladimir about this, Aaliyah struggled to reconcile the seemingly kind, charismatic man she was developing feelings for with a drug trafficking gang leader she was there to bring down.

[Narrator]

I was laying in bed and I looked into his eyes and I asked him, I said, like, do you really know what's happening, you know, with these drugs? And he's like, like, what do you mean? And I said, like, did you know that so many young people dying because of, like, bad quality of drugs? He said, well, I don't know anything about it, but I'm not responsible for this part because my army friend, he is controlling the whole thing. Like, I'm more focusing on businesses like factories and more like government businesses.

[Alia]

In other words, probably protection money, bribery, money laundering, and who knows what else.

[Narrator]

And I said, like, why don't you just check it out and just know it yourself? I wanted just him to understand that one of the businesses which he was doing, it was just like killing other young, innocent people who were really just children.

[Alia]

Vladimir told Aaliyah that he actually wanted the gang to get into more legitimate businesses anyway, where people maybe lived a little longer and easier.

[Narrator]

And because of that, they had some kind of, like, arguments with the army friend. He felt that it's becoming too risky.

[Alia]

Meanwhile, Alia continued delivering information to her colleague Sasha until he told her they were ready to make a move and raid some of the addresses that Alia had given him. When the operation happened, Sasha asked Alia to stay close to Vladimir. So she made up an excuse to go shoe shopping with him.

[Narrator]

And only when he sat into the car, he noticed that he has so many missed calls from his army friend. And he called him back and he said, like, like, what's going on? And I heard that his army friend, who never really give any money, emotions. That moment I heard, like, him screaming. It was something about, like, where the hell were you? I couldn't reach you. Like, what the hell you doing? And Vladimir was, like, upset, but I think like, he was more upset because of his partner screaming. And he said to me, sweetheart, I have to deal with something right now. Let's go to the club a little bit later, okay? And he dropped me home. And I texted Sasha. I said, like, is everything okay? He's like, yeah, you did a great job. I will give you all information when they will see you in person.

[Alia]

As Alia tells the story, I asked her if it seemed too risky to bust Vladimir's drug operation while she was still undercover in the gang and also relatively new there. Was it sloppy at all for them to act on the information that's accessible in the house while you're still maybe in the relationship? And B, while this is happening, for you to do something that breaks your normal pattern of what you do with them? Was he risking the asset at all? The affecting you?

[Narrator]

Me, yeah. The asset nobody cares about. Okay, I did explain this in the beginning, but, like, you can fail and you can be healed, but nobody really cares because the whole mission is the most important as a human being, you're nothing. And Sasha was just a good professional agent, even risking my life.

[Alia]

At our next meeting with Sasha, Leah asked him how the operation went.

[Narrator]

He said, like, it was one of the big places which were distributing drugs. So I wrote the report to our commander. Do you want to read it? I'm like, whatever. I trust you. So he's like, okay, so just behave as normal and do everything you do. Just like, in the same way. Just nothing happened.

[Alia]

So Alia continued to get closer to Vladimir, planning specific kinds of dates to the movies and the beach.

[Narrator]

I wanted to bring him to that memories, to that period of his life where he was happy boy. Without knowing that it will be Afghani war or him becoming criminal gang leader. That's how I established that trust.

[Alia]

However, it's hard to tell sometimes as Aliyah speaks who was seducing who. It's also interesting to think that this was her first relationship with someone she actually liked. She shares many memories of this time, including a trip to the countryside.

[Narrator]

He said, this is my land. This is my motherland. I was born here. I will die here. I belong here. And it's very sad what's happening right now in my country, and I want to do right, you know? And I looked at him, I thought, like, you know, he speaks exactly like my dad. But he was exactly on the opposite side from my father.

[Alia]

Aaliyah would soon find out that maybe these two worlds, the military and the mafia, weren't so different after all.

[Narrator]

I met Sasha on Monday, and he was completely lost. He said. So I came to the department and I found out that instead of these like 4 kilos of the heroin, they are only like just a few grams left. So apparently the whole report which Sasha provided to our commander was changed by him. And the whole report was given to the upscale commander that Sasha's group only confiscated just a few grams of heroin.

[Alia]

Sasha went on to tell Aaliyah that he'd just checked the evidence locker and almost all the heroin was gone. Just a small bag remained.

[Narrator]

And I was like, having this kind of like, you know, like when your brain basically is stuck and you just cannot accept the information. And after a couple minutes I said, like, do you think that he actually reported instead of like 4 kilos, just a few grams, because he basically took this heroin for himself. Sasha said, well, I just don't understand what to do. And, you know, like, do you think we should. We should spy on our commander? I said, well, if you can't do it, do it from your side, because I'll do from my side what I can do with Vladimir and just it will be between us. And I left with this kind of, like, understanding that it's something shady. There's the whole big thing going on just behind our eyes, which we don't know. And I couldn't obviously speak and ask Vladimir, even though I really wanted. But I decided that that night I really need to put him to sleep to find out what the hell is in these papers.

[Alia]

Alia's story continues in episode 14.

[Narrator]

Sasha was the first who entered as the commander of the team. He was the one who received the first bullet.

[Alia]

To Die for is a production of Tenderfoot TV in association with iHeart podcasts. The show is hosted and written by me, Neil Strauss, with additional writing assistance by Tristan Bankston. Executive producers are myself, Donald Albright and Payne Lindsay for iHeart Podcasts. Executive producers, producers are Matt Frederick and Alex Williams. Lead producer and editor is Tristan Bankston. Additional editing by Miles Clark and Christian Brown. Supervising producer, Tracy Kaplan. Consultants include Nooshine Felizadeh, Chelsea Gooden and Jamie Albright. Artwork by Byron McCoy. Original music by makeup and Vanity Set mixed and mastered by Dayton Cole. Arthur. The theme song is Killer Shangri La by Psychotic Beats featuring Patty Amour. Special thanks to Oren Rosenbaum and the team at uta, Beck Media and Marketing, Oren Siegel, Becky Jensen, the Nord Group, Meredith Stedman, Rose Baruch and Alex Vespested. Foreign.

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[Narrator]

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