Albuquerque, New Mexico – New Mexico-based Burque Media claims to have obtained an affidavit from a confidential source, which outlines a plan by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) to target low-level drug users in reverse buy-bust operations. As part of the plan, the police department will be manufacturing crack cocaine from powdered cocaine obtained from previous drug busts.
According to Burque Media’s report:
Section 10 of the 12-section “Affidavit and Motion to Release Evidence,” dated February 25, 2016, states: “Powdered cocaine may be taken to APD’S Criminalistics Unit to be made into crack cocaine.”
A copy of the affidavit was originally uploaded to Scribd.com, but it has since been removed, according to sources. Below is a copy provided by Burque Media:
The document may have been revealed during the discovery process in a criminal case, according to the source, who has chosen to remain anonymous. The APD’s motivation in this operation was apparently spurred on by complaints from local residents.
The document states that: “… business[es], patrons, and residents have complained about drug dealing throughout the City of Albuquerque. Citizens have contacted Detectives complaining about being asked, by people walking/driving through the City of Albuquerque, if they wanted to purchase drugs…”
Ironically enough, this seems to be the same thing the APD plans to do in an effort to bust drug addicts: peddle drugs to people on the streets. Those being targeted are homeless addicts – some of Albuquerque’s most vulnerable residents.
The document continues:
“Law enforcement has tried many methods and has been unable to effectively stop the supply of drugs to the street dealers and users in these areas. These methods include but are not limited to [sic] successfully purchasing drugs from drug dealers in the area. Other traditional methods of narcotic investigations have not been completely successful in curtailing the drug trafficking in the City of Albuquerque.”
Once again, when faced with the realization that previous methods of punishment don’t work, the police simply find new ones. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that paying for 6-months of rehab would probably cost tax-payers less than paying for a 10-year prison term. But, you know, let’s just keep making the same mistakes in the failed ‘War on Drugs’.
APD could take a page from Gloucester, Massachusetts police chief, Leonard Campanello, who started a program in which addicts who go to police for help are not jailed, but are actually helped and accepted into rehabilitation centers. Campanello’s program, known as Gloucester’s Angel Program, has been widely successful, and according to the New York Times, addicts from around the country have traveled to Massachusetts to utilize the service. 56 other police departments in 17 other states have since created programs based on Campanello’s model.
A bewildered Pete Dinelli, Albuquerque’s former chief deputy district attorney and former chief public safety officer, doubted the document’s veracity until its filing was confirmed. In his statement to Burque Media:
“This is a practice I have frowned upon because of the use of seized drugs already tagged into evidence, and I have not seen it for some time. It’s downright dangerous to be using drugs seized in other drug busts because of chain-of-custody issues and the risk associated with not being able to track what happens. The city could also be exposed to liability for using tainted drugs that they lose track of. This is a very poor law enforcement practice.”
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So who is responsible for loss of life or property, because of them selling drugs.
As someone who has spent most of my life in ABQ, this sickens me. Drugs are a huge problem, and this is not going to help anyone. I am already on the fence about APD because of the police brutality, and this is pushing me over the edge.