James Earl Ray was a small time thief, robber and forger who had escaped from a Missouri prison in 67'.
'Drifter' was coined by conspiracy theorists, he was actually quite clever and always coming up with money making schemes.
The "drifter" tag was all over the media, not necessarily limited to those with an agenda to push.
But now that I check out the story, it looks like Ray had two passports on him when he was nabbed.
The story I heard made it sound like he had more passports and more money, and he'd done a lot of traveling for somebody without a steady income.
On reflection, I guess it would have been possible for a small-time grifter to get two passports and a few thousand dollars together, but I also wouldn't rule out the possibility that he had help -- not a major conspiracy, but a little funding from somebody who shared his views.