In Operation Starlight, Alex was the name of the leader of an illegal air transportation gang. Originally, Alex, an American, had been a member of a gang headed by a Swiss master criminal named Luftmann, who offered an air transportation service, carrying light, high value cargo such as jewels and currency across borders. However Alex had been caught pilfering and had been expelled. He subsequently set up his own gang in Paris and engaged in bitter gang warfare against Luftmann's operations.
One of Alex's tactics was to make use of his extensive network of spies to gain foreknowledge of Luftmann's aircraft movements and then ambush and doublecross the customers on arrival. In this manner, a helicopter crew caught by Biggles for smuggling watches believed it was Alex who had doublecrossed them. Later, Alex tried to doublecross Carlo the Cat, a jewel thief who had engaged Luftmann's gang to fly him from Britain to Beauvais in France. Unfortunately for Alex, the flight was actually a trip laid by Biggles for Luftmann's operatives. Alex somehow disposed of Luftmann's men at the landing ground at Beauvais. When Biggles arrived, Alex and his men held him up, thinking he was Carlo and hoping to seize the bag containing his loot from the jewel theft. The bag was, however empty, and Alex ended up being arrested by Marcel Brissac who had been summoned to Beauvais by Biggles.
Alex had also prepared a booby-trapped parcel to be delivered by Luftmann's pilot to Britain. This was a time-bomb intended to blow up the aircraft and kill the pilot. However, after he was arrested, Alex found himself riding in the same car as the parcel bomb, which did wonders for his willingness to talk to the police.