This could never happen in Georgia, right? Right?

Matt Gutman, Erin Brady, Seni Tienabeso and Candace Smith wrote for abc News 9 October 2013, How Undercover Cops in a Florida City Make Millions Selling Cocaine,

Police in a Southern Florida community outside of Fort Lauderdale have been using a controversial tactic to conduct cocaine sting operations and have been raking in millions of dollars in the process.

For years, the Sunrise, Fla., police have been conducting what are called “reverse stings.” Undercover police detectives play the role of cocaine dealers and try to lure in potential buyers who drive or fly in from all over the country with wads of cash. If the stings are successful, informants can receive large payouts and police can seize cash, cars and other non-monetary assets. The busts have pumped millions of dollars into local coffers.

The Sun Sentinal has a handy infographic, and Megan O’Matz and John Maines wrote in How Sunrise police make millions selling drugs,

Cash, cocaine and cars: Sunrise police invite out-of-town drug buyers into the city to buy kilos of cocaine, then bust them and seize the tens of thousands of dollars they bring to the deals and the cars they arrive in. Cars are towed to the Sunrise police forfeiture lot.

What if they were real drug dealers? Back to the abc News story:

Undercover video from the case shows a second paid informant aggressively drawing him into the action.

“In order for them to keep the money they have to make … it look like I’m buying the drugs, obviously, you know,” Borjas said.

Eventually, the female informant placed a kilo of cocaine in Borjas’ bag to establish possession.

Suddenly, Borjas was now a drug offender and facing a possible mandatory 15-year minimum sentence for narcotics trafficking.

“As soon as I got arrested, as soon as they— Just, everything clicked in my head,” he said. “‘Why this? Why that?’ They set me up.”

According to Miami attorney Alan Ross, who defended Borjas in court, the scale of the Sunrise Police cocaine stings seemed almost industrial.

“It’s a huge business,” Ross said. “It’s a multimillion dollar business. It’s been going on for years. It’s been a daily event in the city of Sunrise.”

Nothing like this would happen in any south Georgia city, right?

“They can take their cars, jewelry,” O’Matz said. “One fella told us a cop said, ‘Hey, I like the sunglasses you’re wearing,’ and snatched them, so there is a real profit motive for the police.”

Maybe we should get on with ending the failed War on Drugs so no local law around here gets stung with the temptation to seize people’s possessions.

-jsq

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