During his early years, Lucas took on responsibilities at a young age, caring for his younger siblings. He later claimed that a traumatic childhood incident influenced his turn to crime. At just six years old, he witnessed the murder of his 13-year-old cousin by five members of the Ku Klux Klan, who alleged the boy had looked at a white woman improperly. This event, according to Lucas, marked the beginning of his descent into criminal behavior.

Rise in Organized Crime

Determined to escape poverty, Lucas sought wealth and power, leading him into the illegal drug trade. He decided to challenge the existing power structure of organized crime, which at the time was dominated by the Italian Mafia, particularly in the Harlem heroin market. Lucas aimed to eliminate intermediaries and instead import heroin directly from Southeast Asia.

By the late 1960s, during the height of the Vietnam War, heroin use had become widespread among American soldiers. Upon returning home, many of these veterans continued to seek out the drug, causing a surge in domestic demand. Recognizing this opportunity, Lucas traveled to the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia to establish direct connections with heroin producers. This bold strategy allowed him to flood American cities with high-purity heroin while significantly undercutting his competitors.

Lucas carried out his drug trafficking operation primarily through a smuggling route that allegedly involved the use of American military planes returning from Vietnam. Whether or not this specific method is fully accurate remains debated, but the scale and ingenuity of his operation helped him amass significant wealth and notoriety during the peak of his criminal enterprise.