Neocon,
I think the concept is sound. The team members are just slated for a different team for the next case. Everyone has a price and corruption sneaks in over time.
Like I said, I have mixed feeling regarding legalization. I am also practical. The bottom line is that some humans are going to do drugs regardless of any law. By offering standardized drugs at a lower cost you could make the black market smaller. At the same time huge increases in the penalties for distribution to minors could be put in place. Life in prison for selling to a minor ends a lot of interest. Granted, usage will increase, esp in those that would see any efforts to legalize as a government seal of approval. It is a very tough topic, but the current efforts are useless.
I think your beliefs about interdiction are popular, but not really that effective. These drug dealers are not only ahead of the curve, they are defining it. The book covers one case where the "disposable freighter concept" was invented. Yes, it was just cheaper to sometimes sink the boat than have all kinds of duty and shipping problems with questionable manifests and the like. Just a cost to these guys. As for loosing a shipment, its no big deal when your margins are 100-300%. Again, just a cost of doing business. All the bs about intercepting drugs is just government pr to let Americans know they are "winning" the war on drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I have two friends who were involved in drug enforcement. One was involved in Detroit's biggest coke bust to date (right in my fathers backyard on a small airstrip on an island in the Detroit river). To hear how deep drug money has worked its way into the fabric here is just amazing. Stories like, "see that florist, see that dry cleaner, they are fronts for cleaning drug money".
What we are doing today is not working, and its not working because its good business for both sides. We don't really want to stop drugs in America.
HAGO
TH |
