Reason – by Nick Gillespie The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives is very proud of its hot new venture: using “fake drugs, big bucks to snare suspects.” USA Today reports:
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency in charge of enforcing the nation’s gun laws, has locked up more than 1,000 people by enticing them to rob drug stash houses that did not exist. The ploy has quietly become a key part of the ATF’s crime-fighting arsenal, but also a controversial one: The stings are so aggressive and costly that some prosecutors have refused to allow them. They skirt the boundaries of entrapment, and in the past decade they have left at least seven suspects dead.
The USA Today story, which includes video clips as well, documents just how much time and effort goes into setting up fake drug crimes rather than actually uncovering, stopping, and solving actual drug-related crime.
The arrests don’t come cheap. A single case can go on for months and require dozens of federal agents and local police officers.
Former ATF supervisor David Chipman, who left the agency last year, said the public deserves to know more about how the ATF is using its resources. “There are huge benefits, and there are huge downsides,” he said. “Do you want police to solve crimes, or do you want them to go out and prevent crimes that haven’t occurred yet? What are the things you’re willing to do so that your kid doesn’t get shot?”
The story discusses in detail the case of William Alexander, a low-level crack dealer and beauty-school dropout, who got snared in the ATF’s sting operations. It’s a depressing read from multiple angles, none more so than this: If federal law enforcement agents think instigating and then prosecuting fake crime is more important than reducing the real thing, we’re pretty screwed as a country.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/06/28/atf-proud-of-expensive-stash-house-scam
Yep, these ATF and Fed agents like to do this kind of things to entrap their low level drug houses but when it comes to the cops it is “A OK”. Isn`t there a old saying that goes like this ” It is more illegal to break the law to enforce it than the law breakers that they are arresting”. In other words, those cops entrapped these guys while setting up a drug house. After all, if a person had some fake drugs on them like salt and they sold it as meth then he would get busted for selling meth even though it would be only salt. I know someone that that happened to a yr. or so back. Yes, they say if you call it meth then even though it is only salt you still get charged for meth………… Cops are sneaky bastards by nature – when are they going to follow the law to enforce their law instead of breaking their law to enforce it. Notice that I say “their law”.
Ok, I just have to say that the guy in the picture above has the same posture, attitude, and look of the guy I had restrained in the parking lot of my apartment when the Round Rock cops arrived and then tased me. Just before I restrained him, he strutted up to me just like this before he punched me in the face 6 times. Now if you saw me and a bunch of witnesses yelling that I was the victim and then you saw a guy like this, who would you think is the bad guy here? But for some reason it’s extremely confusing and like rocket science for the Round Rock Police and so they tase me. God help us, all.
Yes NC, them ATF and FBI and yes even the local cops all come in different shapes and sizes. They are sneaky and they realy will use your weaknesses against you. Remember that ya`ll out there. Heck there was one of them ATF agents that was a drug user and could keep up with the best of the coke/meth users and he was even involved with suppling some of the sh*t. Yea, and now he is a sheriff in a county next door to where I live. That is how they work, they are sneaky and them leo`s cannot be trusted unless you are one of them, and then even they got to keep their eye on each other. They are all a bunch of parinoid schyzo. type of bastards for sure.