# You find a brick of Cocaine. Now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474 "2005-11-17T13:03:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/41 "2005-11-17T21:17:33Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > 1. Profit. so “2. ?” is a brick of coke. What does that have to do with underpants though? ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/42 "2005-11-17T22:07:06Z")
This is a question I’ve wondered about more than once. I have to admit that I’d be tempted to do the dishonorable thing. I know users that I can trust. Those users know small-time dealers, and the small-time dealers surely must know larger-scale distributors. I might try to get rid of it through the intermediaries and take whatever cut of the money I could get. There’s still substantial risk there, so I’m not entirely sure that I’d go that route, but I’d definitely consider it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/43 "2005-11-17T22:17:00Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > How is that not entrapment? How could they prove the people weren’t taking it straight to the police station? Good question. That actually was the story they tried to use (“we were taking it to the police”). I don’t know al the details and (I think the sentence was partially based on probation vilations), but I believe the charges were largely based on the fact that they tried to hide the marijuana from the cops when they first drove up. The attempt to coceal was evidentially sufficient to sustain a charge of criminal intent in possessing the bale. I guess it wasn’t entrapment because the cops weren’t personally offering the dope to anybody. They were just letting it lay there and seeing who tried to grab it. I think it was pretty cheap and sleazy but I guess it must have been technically legal. ---
**Author:** ![who\_me\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/87869e/32.png) [@who\_me\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/who_me_2)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/44 "2005-11-17T22:29:55Z")
**Balle\_M** : But, when you get so homesick you think you’re going insane, would you travel back to Texas in a low-flying plane? Hmm? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/45 "2005-11-17T22:33:46Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > 70,000 more? Well, it’s nice to see that I’m not the only one here who’s tried it. The answer I was looking for was “another line”, but you were in the ball park. You win a line. * * * ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/46 "2005-11-17T22:48:47Z")
> [@Balle\_M](#): > > Personally, I’d sell my farm in Texas and buy one in Peru. > [@who](#): > > Balle\_M: But, when you get so homesick you think you’re going insane, would you travel back to Texas in a low-flying plane? Hmm? Dammit! Opened this thread JUST to quote the Reverend, only to find I’m too late! Too late!! ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/47 "2005-11-17T22:52:30Z")
Keep about 10 grams and sell the rest on the cheap to the two or three people I know that would be interested/could afford a large amount. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/48 "2005-11-17T22:57:53Z")
> [@Green Bean](#): > > Something like this happened to a friend of the family. They purchased a new place in Miami. They were doing some renovating, and opened a wall. There, they found a cache of drugs and guns **and cash.** > > They didn’t know what the heck to do, so they just called the cops, who took care of it. …ahem…one thing might have been missing when the cops got there, assuming I had made the call. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/49 "2005-11-18T01:07:13Z")
To be honest, I’d keep it. I would use a little bit, give some to a few friends, and sell most of it. Then I could get a few things that I wouldn’t have been able to justify spending money on previously. I know that it’s illegal, and that it could be dangerous, but in practical terms it’s powered money. And that is how I would treat it. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/50 "2005-11-18T02:21:34Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > powered money. And that is how I would treat it. Powered money? Or powdered money? ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/51 "2005-11-18T14:37:26Z")
I don’t need the inevitable media exposure, the quizzical looks from law enforcement and a possible grudge from some low-life street banger. So, I’d probably call it in from a distant pay phone, provide only location and then hang up. I’d also wipe the coin/phone. I would also start packing my silenced .22. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/52 "2005-11-18T15:38:46Z")
Sell it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/53 "2005-11-18T15:59:49Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Say you’re driving along a quiet street and you happen to notice something strange laying in the gutter. You turn the car around and take a closer look. The package seems to be some kind of tightly wrapped powdery substance. You look around and no-one appears to be watching you. > What do you do next? Call the cops. If it’s feasible, leave it right where it is, call the cops on the cell phone, and let them handle it when they arrive. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Something similar to this once happened to a friend of mine from high school. He was walking along a beach in Florida with another dude and found an entire bale of marijuana washed up on the shore. There was no one else around so they quickly tried to transport the bale to their car (I think they tried to cover it with a shirt or something). As they were stuffing into the trunk of the car, the cops drove up and busted them. It turns out the whole thing had been a trap from the start. The cops were leaving the bale, watching for people to take the bait, and then busting them. My friend got capped for possession with intent to sell and did 6 months in county (he had priors). > > With that story in mind, I would not even attempt to touch the coke. The most I would do is make a phone call to the cops and tell them where it was but I would be too paranoid to even risk the appearnce that I was trying to take possession of the coke myself. > [@CynicalGabe](#): > > How is that not entrapment? How could they prove the people weren’t taking it straight to the police station? What do you think “entrapment” is? If the police urge you to commit a crime, that’s entrapment. If they merely make avaliable the possibility to commit a crime, that’s not entrapment. Cops can leave an unlocked car, with the keys in it, on the street. It’s still theft if you hop in it and drive away, and it’s not entrapment. Now, if an undercover officer sought you out and said, “Hey - I know where there’s a car with the keys in it, just sitting there… why don’t we take it? I know where we can sell it to a chop shop, no questions asked!” THAT might be entrapment. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/54 "2005-11-18T19:07:31Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > What do you think “entrapment” is? If I have my way, something involving Catherine Zeta-Jones. > [@](#): > > If the police urge you to commit a crime, that’s entrapment. If they merely make avaliable the possibility to commit a crime, that’s not entrapment. > > Cops can leave an unlocked car, with the keys in it, on the street. It’s still theft if you hop in it and drive away, and it’s not entrapment. Now, if an undercover officer sought you out and said, “Hey - I know where there’s a car with the keys in it, just sitting there… why don’t we take it? I know where we can sell it to a chop shop, no questions asked!” THAT might be entrapment. I understand that, but the example of the drugs on the beach seems to come pretty close to that line. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/55 "2005-11-18T19:18:24Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Something similar to this once happened to a friend of mine from high school. He was walking along a beach in Florida with another dude and found an entire bale of marijuana washed up on the shore. There was no one else around so they quickly tried to transport the bale to their car (I think they tried to cover it with a shirt or something). As they were stuffing into the trunk of the car, the cops drove up and busted them. It turns out the whole thing had been a trap from the start. The cops were leaving the bale, watching for people to take the bait, and then busting them. My friend got capped for possession with intent to sell and did 6 months in county (he had priors). That is just plain Evil! So wrong. That’s entrapment. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/56 "2005-11-18T19:47:04Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I understand that, but the example of the drugs on the beach seems to come pretty close to that line. How so? The drugs on the beach are analogous to the car with the keys in it. But what’s missing is the undercover cops telling you you should take it, which in my example was necessary for the entrapment to exist. Merely presenting you with the opportunity to commit a crime is not entrapment. Leaving a large pile of money on the floor of a bank is not entrapment. Leaving a bike unlocked on a bike rack outside a store is not entrapment. No matter how EASY the police make it for you to commit the crime, there is no entrapment. It’s when the poilce actively encourage you to commit the crime that entrapment is possible. “Entrapment” is not a buzz word. It has a specific meaning. > [@devilsknew](#): > > That is just plain Evil! So wrong. That’s entrapment. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/57 "2005-11-18T19:54:30Z")
I admit that the person in question attempting to hide the drugs put them squarely in the guilty column, but what if they had approached the officers as soon as they arrived and said “Officer! We just found a bale of marijuana on the beach!”. What law have they broken? What if they really were loading it into their car to take it to the cops and turn it in? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/58 "2005-11-18T19:56:30Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > About a year ago, my half-brother and his sister were walking to school and found a large box of Mary-jane on the side of the road. This is in Humboldt County, CA, and not an unforseeable circumstance. > > It seems it fell off the back of a truck hauling a good deal of pot. They took it to my dad, and he called the police to have them come and pick it up. The police kept asking questions like “Mind if we have a look around?”. My dad was like, “You think _I_ grew this stuff? Why the hell would I give it to you?”. See, this would elicit a toooooooooooooooootally different response from me than a brick of cocaine. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/59 "2005-11-18T20:04:10Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > That is just plain Evil! So wrong. That’s entrapment. No, it is _not_ entrapment. However, it is completely fucking scummy. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474/60 "2005-11-18T20:27:26Z")
I thought a sting operation must entice only those who are predisposed to the criminal behavior being instigated. Bricker, I hate to quibble with a man who _finished_ law school, but I can’t see successfully prosecuting these guys for anything but theft – as with the money on the floor of the bank. Nailing them for possession just seems – well, it’s apparently legal, but definitely slimy. Possession of a dealer-sized amount of marijuana carries penalties far in excess of what these guys are truly liable for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-brick-of-cocaine-now-what/331474.md?page=4)