Looking For iPad, Police Find 750 Pounds of Meth 195
An anonymous reader writes "Hot on the trail of a stolen iPad using the 'Find my iPad' feature in iOS, Police in San Jose tracked the stolen device back to an apartment complex where they then stumbled onto 750 pounds of meth. All told, the meth is worth about $35 million on the street. The seizure was one of the largest drug busts in recent memory."
Crime solved when Police do their job, News at 11 (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait, you mean investigating actual crimes leads to discovery of other, actual crimes?
SAY IT AIN'T SO
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Wait, you mean investigating actual crimes leads to discovery of other, actual crimes?
SAY IT AIN'T SO
I'm not sure theft of an ipad is really a "crime".. more like a "favor" in my opinion.
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:4, Funny)
I'm not sure theft of an ipad is really a "crime".. more like a "favor" in my opinion.
No no, it is a crime. The damned Apple device sells like hot potatoes on eBay. Its theft represents big bucks lost !
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:4, Funny)
They sell hot potatoes on eBay? How do they stay hot until I get them? They must have some super high efficiency insulation to wrap them in!
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:5, Funny)
They sell hot potatoes on eBay? How do they stay hot until I get them?
With Nathalie Portman!
*realizes* Damn. Grits. It's hot grits, not potatoes...
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:5, Insightful)
Usually when someone is doing a big crime they will try very hard to cover up all their tracks. When they do a small one or probably more to the case someone else who is doing the small crime will make more mistakes. What probably happened was some dude who needed money for meth stole the iPad and then traded it for Meth to the dealer.
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Why would you assume that when you know the dealer* could have stolen it as well?
I think you probably meant broker or something.
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Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:5, Interesting)
Well we are assuming the dealer wasn't also an idiot who would risk $35M worth of drugs for an electronic device you can get brand new for $500, $800 tops with all the options.
Don't bet against the stupidity of criminals. From the FBI report on the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing [fbi.gov]:
In the rubble investigators uncovered a vehicle identification number on a piece of wreckage that seemed suspiciously obliterated. A search of our crime records returned a match: the number belonged to a rented van reported stolen the day before the attack. An Islamic fundamentalist named Mohammad Salameh had rented the vehicle, we learned, and on March 4, an FBI SWAT team arrested him as he tried in vain to get his $400 deposit back.
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Good point, that is \i am sure what happened, yet the ipad gps does not worry about who stole it, only that it is stolen and needs to be found.
I think there should be a cyber unit dedicated to this sort of thing, where the ipad will be used as a decoy to setup the perps, and then track it to the HQ of those perps, of course you need some pretty grungy looking peeps to make the dealer take the ipad from them for a meth trade off.
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Small crimes ... like speeding?
It's a popular theory that speed traps and other traffic stops are only used to generate cash for the police department. While this is true to some extent, it's also a rather effective method for the police to catch people involved in more significant crimes. Run the plates, check for arrest warrants, and so forth.
Ever heard of Timothy McVeigh, Ted Bundy, or Dennis Rader? All caught during routine traffic stops.
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"Well, it IS white, overpriced, pushed heavily by dealers, and addictive to the point where criminal activity starts over it. But it weighs more than an iPad. Easy to get confused, boys. Let's head back to the station."
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:5, Insightful)
My elderly mother has an iPad, the best that has happened to her in a long while. She uses Skype on it to keep in touch with relatives in other cities, keeps all her photos on it, and plays games on it when idle. Stealing it from her wouldn't be just a crime, it would be downright cruel.
You think you're being funny, but for every show-off and zealot that waves their iPad around as a sign of their superiority, there's another human being who quietly makes good proper use of it.
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My elderly mother has an iPad, the best that has happened to her in a long while. She uses Skype on it to keep in touch with relatives in other cities, keeps all her photos on it, and plays games on it when idle. .
I hope you've told her about the importance of back ups.
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I realize you're joking, but I think that mothers (elderly or not) should be doing things that exercise their minds and are fun. If that means she reads the Wall Street Journal, plays Angry Birds, or even keeps up on facebook (and skype/facetime), more power to her! I'd rather have monthly video chats with my mom than get something knitted for christmas anyway.
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:5, Insightful)
This is so true. I live near a major highway and hear all the time about major drug busts that occurred because less-than-intelligent traffickers got pulled over because of something stupid like speeding. They never seem to learn. If you're going to haul a metric shitload of dope across the country, make sure all your lights work and stay close to the speed limit!
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If you're going to haul a metric shitload of dope across the country, make sure all your lights work and stay close to the speed limit!
And make sure you don't get stuck in a tunnel [bbc.co.uk]!
.
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I live near a major highway and hear all the time about major drug busts that occurred because less-than-intelligent traffickers got pulled over because of something stupid like speeding.
In the majority of those cases, the officer (or his intel) knew that there was a high probability that the vehicle was hauling drugs. Fortunately, police cannot pull you over based on the intel alone. They have to find a reason to pull you over. Fortunate for the cops, it's absolutely impossible for a human to drive anywhere without committing a violation. Example: The un-posted speed limit of Seattle is 25mph. If you turn onto a 35mph roadway, you can only drive 25mph until you are in view of a 35mph
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In truth, a lot of those coincidental pull-overs that result in big drug bust are due to the work of informants and other surveillance. The bust is executed as a routing traffic stop in order to protect the method the police used to learn about the drug operation. This is in order to continue to use that method against t
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The trouble is that even if you are going under the speed limit they'll still pull you over if their bored or need to meet their quota. I'm friends with one of the bailiffs down at the county court house. The last time I got a bs ticket I asked him if their was any point to contesting it. He said he could not recall someone ever winning, provided the officer shows up to the hearing, which is most of the time.
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And when they ask for permission to search, say "NO!"
On this weeks "Southland" there was this sub-plot about a guy hiding a camera in a coffee shop toilet. The cops asked to look at his laptop and he consented. On his screen was the live feed from his site. Why would the dumbass consent?
I used the opportunity to instruct my wife to never consent to search or answer cops questions about a crime. They are not there to help you. They are there to catch someone, and if they decide it's you, any help you give them is helping them to convict you.
Re:Crime solved when Police do their job, News at (Score:4, Informative)
I'm sure that happens. But, I've refused to allow cops to search my vehicles, and so has my son. When I have refused, they threatened to bring a dog out to sniff my vehicle. The last time my son refused, they actually brought a dog out. The dog walked around the car three times, without alerting. The cop had the dog to "Sit" beside the driver's door, dog looked around for a few seconds, then slobbered on the door. "Ha, he's found something! That's what he does when he's alerting us!"
Bunch of losers found nothing of course - all they did was to waste their time, and the kid's time.
$35 Million Dollars (Score:5, Funny)
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Buying overpriced, shiny toys posing as computers isn't normal...
. . . . . but on meth it is.
MAC: Not even once.
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That is one of the funniest posts I've read in a long time. Thanks!!
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According to my ex-girlfriend, this is the most recent time I've made anyone happy in the last 5 years. So you're welcome. d=
Re:$35 Million Dollars (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:$35 Million Dollars (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, they probably traded it to the dealers for about 30 dollars worth of drugs. Usually when people buy or sell stolen goods in a straight up trade for drugs, they get 5-10% of the value.
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Mod this up. This is no doubt exactly what happened. People transporting/stashing large amounts of drugs have very important reasons to keep a low profile and not engage in risky, petty crime. They also could afford to buy their own iPad.
They would have traded for much less than $500 worth though, most likely.
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While that makes logical sense (Score:2)
Criminals are often dumb and greedy. If you search around you'll be amazed at the number of stories of people carrying lots of drugs getting busted for speeding, or having expired tags, or equally stupid shit. You'd think they would be real careful, but they often aren't.
Re:$35 Million Dollars (Score:4, Insightful)
Even drug lords cannot afford the new insane iPad prices.
The actual lesson is: Criminals are bloody stupid. If I had $35 million worth of drugs in a place, I would avoid doing anything that could get the police into my place. Like stealing an iPad. Or even picking one up that someone left on the train or bus.
Re:$35 Million Dollars (Score:5, Interesting)
The actual lesson is: Criminals are bloody stupid. If I had $35 million worth of drugs in a place, I would avoid doing anything that could get the police into my place. Like stealing an iPad. Or even picking one up that someone left on the train or bus.
They're even stupider than you think. The police didn't have a search warrant, so they just asked if they could come in, and the people in the apartment said yes. Can you believe it? They've got $35mm worth of meth and they invite the cops in? They must have been under the influence of drugs at the time...
By the way, to give credit where credit is due, it was detectives from Palo Alto who found the meth, not San Jose police, although the apartment was in San Jose.
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They're even stupider than you think. The police didn't have a search warrant, so they just asked if they could come in, and the people in the apartment said yes. Can you believe it? They've got $35mm worth of meth and they invite the cops in? They must have been under the influence of drugs at the time...
No drugs, just that damn reality distortion field.
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I wonder if you could use being under the influance of drugs as a defense to invalid the consent to search. Illegal search would, in theory, let them walk.
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You would have to testify that you were on illegal drugs, which would mean shotting yourself in the foot. But that's probably better then being nailed for the distribution of 750 lbs of meth.
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The actual lesson is: Criminals are bloody stupid. If I had $35 million worth of drugs in a place, I would avoid doing anything that could get the police into my place.
Or like letting them in without a warrant. FTA:
The officers didn't have a search warrant, so they knocked on the door of the apartment and asked the occupants for permission to come in. They consented, Tomkins said.
But lets be honest, it's not that all criminals are stupid. The smarter ones are currently looking for the original owner of that iPad with some questons about those mp3's he has...
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But lets be honest, it's not that all criminals are stupid. The smarter ones are currently looking for the original owner of that iPad with some questons about those mp3's he has...
That's the most insight comment today!
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take with Meth for that truly magical experience
So the iPad (Score:5, Funny)
Obligitory Apple-Troll Post (Score:2)
Wait, so there's a drug that's MORE addictive and in-demand than something Apple produces? Who'dathunk?!
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True, but the Apple addicts are more dangerous to confront.
Depressing (Score:2)
Makes you wonder how much more of this stuff is out there. Meth is a bad, bad drug.
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Meth is a bad, bad drug.
http://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm [rxlist.com]
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Nope, RTFA, this is crystal meth.
Re:Depressing (Score:4, Informative)
Crystal meth is Methamphetamine (pure, in a crystalline form).
Desoxyn is also Methamphetamine ((S)-N,-dimethylbenzeneethanamine hydrochloride).
No essential difference (apart from dose).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine [wikipedia.org]
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Methamphetamine ((S)-N,-diMethylbenzeneethanamine hydrochloride)
Hah! Really cleverly hidden, dear Apple, but you won't be able to talk your way out of it this time, not with this and the iPad as evidence!
Re:Depressing (Score:5, Informative)
I've been diagnosed with ADHD for the past 12 years or so. For the last 6, I've gone untreated. As an illustration of how screwed-up my body chemistry is, consider that I drink 4 cups of caffeinated coffee daily at work, primarily to reduce the jumpy focus. A short while (30-60 minutes) after my first cup, focusing on a single idea becomes much easier. I'll drink more to maintain that focus through the day. In the late afternoon, I'll sometimes switch to caffeinated soft drinks, mostly for taste. In the evenings, I'll have another caffeinated soft drink, to relax me for sleep. I'll often be happily unconscious by 11.
ADHD is weird. Stimulants (like caffeine and more potent drugs like methamphetamine) even out the brain chemistry, making people like me closer to normal. For myself, I spent much of my time in college training myself to focus, so the slight assistance of caffeine is all I usually need, but I'm a pretty mild case now. It doesn't surprise me at all that some people are prescribed methamphetamines to slow down.
Re:Depressing (Score:5, Informative)
My sister has ADHD. When she was younger (under 12) we used to have to give her hot chocolate or even mochas before bed in order for her to fall asleep. You get some weird looks from people when you say that ("You give her caffeine so she can sleep?"). But it works.
It's strange how you have to give someone stimulants in order for the body to catch up to the brain, thus evening things out and allowing them to concentrate and "be normal".
She's now on Dexedrin and , both amphetamines, both stimulants, both used to relax/calm her down enough to get on with her day.
Yeah, ADHD is a weird chemical imbalance.
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. For myself, I spent much of my time in college training myself to focus
Can you elaborate on this? I find at work I am divided among 12 tasks simultaneously. After so many years of this, I've found it hard to sit through a book like I used to and just read cover to cover... instead, I skim and jump around. What exercises did you use? Any online references?
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No references, I'm afraid, but I do know a few things that definitely helped.
Firstly, I've benefited most from meditation. I spent many years taking dance lessons (every programmer needs a backup career), and at one point worked with an instructor who touted the benefits of meditation. Her technique was to lie on the floor, and focus on relaxing one muscle group at a time, working from the toes to the face, with the idea being that you develop awareness of the separate muscles, and the ability to control th
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For the last 6, I've gone untreated.
consider that I drink 4 cups of caffeinated coffee daily at work
So not entirely untreated... unless you only consider prescription drugs to be treatment.
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Perhaps "almost untreated" or "semi-treated" would be better. I do not see a doctor of any kind about it anymore, and I take no regulated medications, both of which I did (along with drinking caffeine) during the first 6 years. Since I come from the medical data field, having no doctor's treatment plan means I consider myself, for data purposes, to be untreated (which is really just "not actively treated according to the currently-accepted medical consensus").
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The problem with adhd is that the frontal lob isn't working like it should, by dumping stimulants into the body the brain is stimulated to work. The frontal lob being where impulse control is located, by stimulating it, the ADD/ADHD person actually gains control over their impulses rather than responding to everything else that happens around them.
While in the military, I used to drink a pot of coffee before bed in order to actually sleep. The biggest problem with regulating your impulse control through c
Re:Depressing (Score:4, Informative)
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It is much closer to the models that were developed to study Oil.
Except that you can't really produce oil in your basement following info found on the internet.
I suspect this will at most create a supply void that will quickly be filled by existing suppliers upping their production, and new suppliers entering a previously (one would assume) saturated market.
I guess it depends too on how much current suppliers keep in stock. That is, does the shortage hit right away, or is there a fairly long grace period for production to pick up. If the later, there might not be any cha
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So? Crystal meth is an express elevator to hell. Humanity would have been better served if it never existed. I'm expressing my depression that it even exists.
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Re:Depressing (Score:5, Insightful)
Except that it takes years of heavy drinking to start turning your insides into mush (mainly liver/kidneys, which are easily repairable), and only a few months of heavy meth use to turn your brain into mush (which is extremely hard to repair).
Alcoholism tends to grow slowly over time. Meth addiction tends to go from nothing to "holy shit, the bat people are everywhere man, you gotta protect me" in no time flat. Especially if you start smoking it.
And if you quit drinking, your body can recupurate and recover from most of the damage. If you quit meth after years of hardcore use, your body is still messed up.
Alcohol is bad. But meth is 1000s of times worse.
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Ahahahahahahahaha!
I'm "parroting" experience, not "the powers that be".
And I never said anything about the legality of alcohol. Just a comparison on the effects of alcohol/meth on the body. And the effects of meth, especially on the brain, are a hell of a lot worse than alcohol.
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Yes, but... (Score:2, Insightful)
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Police seize and keep stuff all the time, even without charging anyone. Consider Tenaha, Texas [wikipedia.org]. Or Detroit [detroitnews.com]. But the problem is pervasive.
It's thanks to civil asset forfeiture law [wikipedia.org] that police can keep your stuff, even if they don't charge you with any crime. This isn't news, and it isn't a "conspiracy", as you put it, just (increasingly) common practice among law enforcement.
An Apple is a terrible thing to waste (Score:3)
Another win .... (Score:5, Funny)
And they found some meth as well.
This would be funny if it was lost in the owners.. (Score:5, Funny)
This would be funny if it was lost in the owners own apartment.
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or if someone stole an ipad and placed it in their apartment as a high tech way to give an anonymous tip to the police!
Apple = Gatway Drug (Score:2)
Unfortunately for Apple, this is yet more proof that their products are a gateway drug.
First you get a free iTunes card, so you need some free software from Apple.
Then you realize that iTunes doesn't support yout Zune, so you get an iPod Nano next time around.
Before you realize it, you're knee deep in stolen iPads and $25M in high-grade meth.
*sniff* Hand me a tissue... (Score:2)
The real tragedy here is to think of how many cold symptoms could have been avoided if that meth had been allowed to remain unadulterated in its beautiful unsullied pseudophedrine form.
Meth must really be a hell of a drug. People are willingly converting PSE into meth, which logically leads to the conclusion that meth is even better than NyQuil. I didn't think such a thing was possible.
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Just try to snort NyQuill and see what happens. I dare you.
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{snnnooorrrttt} "Hey, this stuff smells like-" BOOM! you're in a coma.
(Dennis Leary FTW)
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Meth is actually a far more efficiacious decongestant than pseudoephedrine ever was.
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Just another reason to go after small crimes (Score:5, Insightful)
Often local police don't pursue small crimes like theft. They don't fingerprint cars that have stolen radios, or follow-up when you report your cell phone stolen (despite the fact that it probably broadcasts a GUID and is GPS trackable with a warrant).
However, going after small crimes can be a way to go after big crimes. Somebody who has stolen an iPad could very well be into some other crime, and when you walk into their house anything in plain sight is fair game. Plus there is the whole bit about nipping problems in the bud - the teenager stealing radios today could be trading in guns in a few years.
Sure, fingerprinting the car with a stolen radio costs more than replacing the radio, but the goal isn't to replace the radio - it is to deter real crime, and send the message that stealing is going to get you in trouble.
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Sounds like a suggestion I read (probably on /.) about avoiding TSA luggage tampering. Place a component of a gun in your luggage and declare it at the counter - the luggage has to be secure and locked, and they'll search it in your presence and you keep the only key. A component creates less gun law hassles at your destination, though obviously you'd be an idiot not to be VERY familiar with the laws.
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I'm surprised this stuff hasn't taken off more. From what I read after 9/11 there was a big push to get cops to do more enforcement of minor offenses. If you pull somebody over with an expired sticker on their car, then you get to ask for their license and run it. You never know what watch list they might be on.
Well, tracking a reported-stolen device with a GPS is just probable cause to enter a private residence, and who knows what you'll find there. Even if it turns out the device wasn't even stolen an
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Even if the perp isn't involved in a single big-crime, there's also the question of whether the perp is involved in a *lot* of small crime.
Yeah, I think this happens a lot. A friend of mine had a bike stolen (a common problem near the University), and found another one on craigslist to buy. When they went to go pick it up the seller's entire apartment was an obvious chop-shop. It was wall to wall with bikes, with parts obviously swapped between them. The cops weren't interested even then.
750 pounds? (Score:5, Funny)
Worth (Score:2)
throws dart at board full of absurd, freshly ass-pulled numbers
$35 million dollars!!"
Over a week ago (Score:2)
Wow, slashdot (or submitters) are getting slow. This happened at least 11 days ago (the article cited was posted 11 days ago). I read about it in the paper then (yes, dead tree stuff).
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I'm no law technician, but sitcom knowledge tells me it'll probably now be evidence in an extremely lengthly legal case, and will be returned to the original owner later in the decade.
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There must be some very interesting psychology happening there, because you hear about this all the time. Granted not when $35M of drugs are involved, but you do hear about people consenting to completely voluntary searches, even when the police clearly explain they don’t have to consent and it is voluntary .. only to have drugs / weapons / stolen property found.
Then again, stupid criminals get caught more often ... so maybe there is some selection bias happening.
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1) Often its the cops word against the perps word as to permission being granted.
2) You're also assuming the cops are successful more than 1 in 100 times.
Permitting to search means they glance at things for a minute and leave you alone, mostly. I have been searched at a speeding traffic stop late at night. They don't waste hours of their time unless they've had an anonymous tip or you smell like a cheech and chong movie. The cop searching my car was pretty much looking for open containers. (no I was not
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It's illegal to search for things outside of the terms of search warrant. If you walk in and discover palates of drugs on the living room floor you can still use that as evidence. Once you're inside anything in obvious view or come across in what was clearly intended as a search for the original item is OK. If your warrant is for something large and you check under the seat cushions, what you find is probably not admissible. If you're looking for an iPad and you check under the seat cushions, but find a
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besides there is also the trick of calling back to base to have the warrant "re-cut" since Probable Cause for X can get you a new warrant to search for evidence of X.
lots of Shake and Bake is possible
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There was some reality show where they broke in and robbed businesses (with the owners prior consent) that I saw an episode of once. Can't remember the name of it. Anyway, they broke into a bar and stole a number of things, including a number of liquor bottles. In their summation, they talked about the value of what they'd stolen. They valued the liquor in something like the high tens of thousands of dollars, clearly based on the fact that, sold shot by shot, that's how much money the bar can make from sell
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To my knowledge, the show doesn't use auto-tune in any way, but I think the post still illustrates your point.
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Yeah, he took it in reference to the physicist.
Are you certain?
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Do keep in mind that police estimates of the value of the drugs are often street-level prices. Someone who's sitting on meth worth $35 million on the street isn't out selling it in those quantities. They buy or manufacture a large batch at price much lower than the street price, then they sell it in smaller batches at a price which is higher than the one they paid but still a lot less than the street price, the next guy in the chain is probably the guy who sells smaller batches to individual dealers (who in
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Historically this would be the first drug story in the history of journalism to not have the dollar value hyperinflated to get bigger headlines. I googled around and shockingly the going rate seems to be around $80/gram with the average user using about a gram a day. I would have expected with the usual cop and journalist filters the price would be $10/gram but it is shockingly accurate, which is odd. Usually do not expect truth from cops and journalists. Weird.
The big problem is there is a substantial
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Are you SURE you saw 780 pounds? You know, mistakes are made. Here, take this envelope and think carefully about just how much meth was found.
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Must have been a special customer to get the police on the case for their iPad.
iPad 4 prototype