ATF and D.C. Police Impersonate Hip-Hop Label, Arrest 70 in Sting Operation

Christmas comes early for the feds.

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A year long investigation by Washington, D.C. police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has resulted in the seizure of 161 weapons and $7.2 million in drugs. The real killer is that they pulled this off by posing as a fictional rap label. It's a damn shame that all you have to do to gain trust is pretend to be "music industry insiders."

The team operated out of the "Manic Enterprises" studio, which was run by "Richie Valdez" (D.C. Police Sgt. Dale Sutherland) and located inside of a Northeast DC rowhouse. The "studio" opened in November of 2010, and featured the usual studio equipment, as well as some additional technology-hidden audio and video gear.

According to authorities, many of the 70 suspects admitted they would kill police or innocent people if they deemed it necessary. Naturally, that didn't sit well with the undercovers. Also, if you're wondering what that $7 million in drugs consisted of, it included 80 pounds of meth, 21 pounds of coke, 1.25 gallons of PCP and 24 pounds of marijuana, heroin and ecstasy. Not a game at all.

In addition to recovering the weapons-which included a rocket launcher-and drugs, a trip to Atlanta during the investigation yielded a connection to the Mexican Drug Cartel "La Familia," who allegedly introduced the feds to a Georgia gun supplier.

Here's a memo to the goons, even though they should already know this: don't trust anyone, especially people claiming to be part of the music industry.

[via AllHipHop and Washington Post]

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