More former law enforcement and military personnel are turning to cannabis transport careers

Some former law enforcement officers and military veterans are trading their careers protecting communities for new roles transporting cannabis products.

Pennsylvania-based Talaria is one company specifically recruiting people with law enforcement and military backgrounds to transport cannabis from cultivators to dispensaries.

One Talaria transporter who spoke with WJZ spent nearly 30 years with the Baltimore Police Department. He said many of the skills he developed in law enforcement translate naturally to his new job.

Now, Talaria's CEO is looking to expand the company's workforce and grow its transportation services into a national operation.

A new career

Matthew Dzambo wore many hats with Baltimore Police. His last years were spent as a detective.

"I went into what was then called [the] major crimes [unit], which is a detectives unit that deals with things like robberies, shootings, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and things like that," Dzambo said.

These days, he's often seen driving a black SUV. From the outside of the car, you can see a few of the security features that are installed, like a camera on the back of the car and bars on some of the windows.

But WJZ wasn't privy to all of the security features. 

When asked about it, Dzambo said, "That is something that I'm not really comfortable discussing."

Dzambo has been transporting cannabis products with Talaria for the last seven months. His routes sometimes take him to multiple states in one day.

He said his time as a cop translates well.

"When you're working, especially on the street, you're always in that sort of elevated alert mode," Dzambo said. "So that translates really well to this because of what we're doing. We have to naturally be aware of our surroundings."

Hiring a specific background

Ari Raptis, CEO of Talaria and sister company National Secure Transport, said his companies have hired around 300 retired law enforcement and military personnel around the country.

Raptis said he likes to hire people with these backgrounds because, for him, there's an inherent trust.

"They retired in good standing, they protected and served our community, there's no one I would trust more to be driving our vehicles and moving the product that we pick up every single day," he said.

Talaria has been around since 2018 and it currently operates in eight states. National Secure Transport, which transports large amounts of cash, operates in 23 states.

Dzambo said it helps having other ex-law enforcement alongside him in this work, saying it makes the transition that much easier.

"There's that camaraderie. You get to work with guys who are the same mindset as the people you worked with for the majority of your professional career," Dzambo said.