When I was much much younger (18) I had some friends that were involved in a high level ring like this
Only it was targeted kingpin drug dealers, nothing less than that was accetable
My 2 homies my age were basically runners but every one else was in their late 20s - 30s + (which was like 50 to us in those days)
And to this day I’ll never forget meeting them. Because they all had high level jobs and talents and positions that either covered up what they did or helped them with the job
And I remember one guy owned a major local security company which meant he knew how to bypass any security system that existed. I specifically remember someone saying “he needs a challenge”
I always thought it felt like an intro to Oceans 11 lol. Also everyone was black, we were in some stip club and this wasn’t like some military type operation (but they moved heavy and scouted etc) and this was over 20 years ago
So I don’t doubt the underworld is moving 50x heavier and smarter and even with more tech, plus athletes are an easier target IMO because back then kingpins come with the obvious dangers…