Last week, the NYPD announced they had broken up a multi-million dollar drug ring in Queens. Drug busts are always good for news conferences, especially when the NYPD can spread the drugs, guns, and cash recovered, but this bust was particularly interesting: Apparently the drug dealers really loved to watch the HBO drama, The Wire, and would get tips on how to evade the police from the show.
"Believe it or not, these guys copy 'The Wire,'" said [Sgt. Felipe Rodriguez], who is assigned to the Organized Crime Investigation Division. "They were constantly dumping their phones. It made our job so much harder."
Sergeant Rodriguez said several members of the gang were big fans of the HBO show and talked about it constantly. He said that the investigators could catch up on the latest developments in the show, if they hadn't seen it, when members of the gang talked about it the next day. "If we missed anything, we got it from them Monday morning," he said.
That's a new TV recap niche that has yet to be tapped: Recaps for criminals - learn what defense techniques are used on Law & Order, see how Veronica Mars will know you stole the math test. Anyway, besides 43 kilos of coke, half a million in cash, and various other objects seized, the NYPD was also amazed at the loot in one female accomplice's apartment: About $25,000 worth of Prada and Gucci shoes.
Blame not The Wire's creators, as they were just basing it on existing techniques used by criminals (and police). And The Wire is one of the best dramas out there now; it's a sick hope that this story might draw some attention to the show. Please, help Save the Wire.
