Reverse Undercover Sting
http://members.aol.com/deawatch/fwhite/deafw-6.htm
The art of the deal-recycling drugs the DEA way!
Bob Pilgrim
Trading the hot summers of the canyons of New York for those of the art
deco
environs of Miami, Frank White and agents in his group were able to turn
one of
the most im****tant marijuana brokers in the Dade County area into a
productive
informant. He facilitated the drug trade by bringing buyer and seller
together
for a commission. He had learned his nefarious trade and developed his
contacts
from his mentor, whom he found murdered and nailed, crucifixion style, to
the
front door of his house.
Now dubbed the DEA, Frank's group devoted countless hours to devising
plans and
strategies on how to best employ this informant. As a result of this
collective
brainstorming and out-of-the-box thinking, his crew designed and perfected
the
"reverse undercover sting," which had never been attempted before by his
agency.
This was an extremely dangerous and risky operation. To give his
undercover
personnel heavy credibility, Frank obtained five tons of marijuana that
was
seized from a previous bust and was no longer needed for trial. This load
was
used as a prop to wet the appetites of the dealers when they came to
examine it
prior to purchase. If they were happy, they would complete the
transaction, load
it in their trucks and depart. After they had driven a safe distance from
the
undercover (UC) agents, vehicle stops would be executed and the dealers
arrested. Frank had complete confidence in his team, because they had
safely
made hundreds of collars, seized tons of dope and were stuffing the
prisons with
narcotics violators.
They got off to a very impressive start. During the first 48 hours of the
operation they took down twelve bad guys and seized $700,000. On day three
it
got even better with thirteen arrests and the confiscation of one million
dollars. However, it was now time to move to a new location.
In their first arrest at the new warehouse in south Miami they "scored"
50,000
Quaaludes, $90K and the two brothers trying to barter for the weed. The
sting
was working out too well to be true-no resistance, no casualties-but that
was
about to change.
An undercover agent informed the team that he had negotiated with an
apparent
"high roller" to purchase the whole 15,000 pounds of hemp for a million
cash.
Their established SOPs kicked in and they prepared for the arrival of
these
"heavy hitters." All the arrests had been mobile takedowns, so a rental
truck
was purposely selected to hold the load. In case things went sideways, its
tank
was only partially full with fuel and was rigged so it could not exceed 50
MPH.
In addition, an outer perimeter containment team of marked police vehicles
took
up blocking positions after the dealers were in the warehouse.
Frank and his crew were providing inner perimeter security for the UC
agents
conducting the transaction. Shortly after the three dealers arrived, they
revealed their true intentions. Rip-off! Suddenly, the sultry tropical air
was
ripped by a thunderous full auto burst from a DEA M16 carbine followed by
the
reverberating blast from one of the robber's shotguns. The agent emptied
his
magazine and both antagonists missed. Before Frank could close in, things
got
interesting when the rental truck containing the marijuana created its own
splintered opening through the locked warehouse door and careened toward
Frank's
overwatch position. Barreling down the road was 15,000 pounds of
narcotics-loaded truck. In a classic game of "chicken" Frank drove his
sedan
head to head at the rental vehicle, intending to force it off the road.
In the rapidly closing DEA sedan was Paul, the agent who had shot and
killed the
two assassins that had murdered Frank's close partner Frankie T. This was
before
DEA developed SWAT-like tactics, which was another of Frank's innovations
when
he served in the Oakland, California office. Even though the truck
seriously
outweighed them, the bad guy blinked, swerved off the road and bogged down
in
the grass on the north side of the macadam. Frank was pumped and
aggressively
leapt from the car and rushed the passenger side of the truck.
Peripherally, he
saw Richie, a team member closing in on the driver's side. Looking up he
saw the
driver with a black pistol in his right hand. Fearing a developing
crossfire, he
yelled to Richie to, "Get down, get down." The gunman also heard the
warning and
pointed what turned out to be a Browning High Power at Frank's head. At
that
"Kodak moment" his front sight became his sole focus and his assailant's
face
became a blur. With a two-handed! hold, Frank immediately triggered seven
230
grain .45ACP FMJ rounds from his 1911 through the truck's side window, As
he
fired, he was acutely aware of glass shattering and showering the ground.
The
big GM went to slide lock and Frank sought a modi*** of cover by sliding
down
the side of the truck. Leaning against the panel he looked down at the
ground to
see if he was changing color as he slammed seven more FMJ rounds into his
pistol. Satisfied he was still in one piece, his attention was diverted by
a
series of shotgun blasts and he saw his teammate's tremendous muzzle
flashes as
they poured slugs and buckshot into the cab of the truck. He was so close
that
he could hear and feel the heavy lead slam into the truck's sheet metal.
Fortunately the lead projectiles penetrated and there was no spalling or
ricochets, so he remained unscathed. Because of the high volume of fire,
Frank
thought the gunman was still in the fight. Still fearing for his and his
team's
safety, he uns! uccessfully tried to open the truck's door with his left
hand.
He held his pistol in a close combat retention position and, with the
image of
the gunman indexing him with his 9 millimeter still firmly planted in his
mind,
Frank vaulted up onto the running board, grabbed the door handle with one
hand
and with the other, again fired at the drug dealer.
Like maniacs, the other two subjects tore out of the warehouse parking
area and
disappeared, northbound on Dixie Highway into the night. Their car was
found
abandoned miles away.
When the smoke cleared and the autopsy was completed, Frank learned that
his
first magazine had actually ended it before the gunman could fire and that
he
had hit him twelve times. In addition to the Browning, two other fully
loaded
pistols were recovered from the truck.
LESSONS LEARNED:
* Always retain keys to undercover vehicles or render them tem****arily
inoperable.
* Be prepared for the unexpected; have a containment plan and the assets
to
enforce it.
* Drug enforcement officers and agents providing security should be
capable of
conducting emergency hostage rescues of undercover agents should they be
abducted.
* Full automatic fire, even at close ranges, frequently results in waste
of ammo
and potentially creates more problems than it solves.
* Plan and rehearse vehicle stops.
* Have on scene vehicles of sufficient size and weight to block/stop
vehicles
you could encounter.
* Pre-planning and preparation is always preferable to hasty and reactive
counter actions. However, they have a chance to succeed if they are
executed
aggressively and with determination. They usually rely on someone's
initiative
and although frequently dangerous in execution, violence-of-action often
succeeds in overcoming resistance. However, the inclination to
"attack-attack-attack" will eventually lead to tragedy.
* Although initiative and aggressiveness linked to surprise and speed can
reverse tactical setbacks, the immediate assault of a vehicle not
containing
hostages should be a tactic of last resort.
* As soon as you determine you are faced with a deadly threat, do not
hesitate-engage. If you don't, you die.
* Carry a minimum of three magazines and position them so they are quickly
accessible. Practice reloading by feel or keep the gun up at eye level, so
you
can keep your eyes on the threat. Frank carried six.
* Practice shooting with one hand while holding on for balance with the
other.
* Do not "area shoot." Pick out an exact spot on your target's body and
place
your shots there. Practice being able to identify your front sight under
all
conditions. As soon as you reference it-shoot.
* When faced with imminent deadly force do not focus on your assailant's
weapon.
If you do, you will hit his hands. In this situation, body shots will not
guarantee shutting him down and frequently he will be able to return your
fire
even when hit. Practice headshots to stop hostilities instantly.
* Although you will tend to tunnel in on the threat, be aware of the
location of
friendlies to avoid potential fratricide-inducing crossfires.
* Test your ammunitions performance on various common obstacles including
vehicle glass. A substantial number of police shootings involve motor
vehicles.
Although Frank's team knew that buckshot would not consistently penetrate
a
vehicle's door, the tactical situation dictated that they try to engage
the
gunman through the truck's elevated door.
* When possible, hand pick your team. You must have complete confidence in
each
member and an intuitive connection with each other. Mutually shared danger
has a
way of weeding out the phonies and more often than not they select
themselves
out of the group. Uncontrolled fear is a great leveler.
http://members.aol.com/deawatch/fwhite/deafw-6.htm
-- Otis Willie (Ret.)
Military News and Information Editor (http://www.13105320634.com)
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