My terrifying LE ordeal is finally over.

So now that I'm finally in the clear, I figured I should post what I've been through in the hopes that maybe it could help someone, if they ever get stuck in a similar situation.

I had been buying my bud off DNMs for about a year and a half before all this went down, and in that time had managed to never get scammed, or lose a package. I kept my Opsec tight, I never sold to anyone else, and never smoked with anyone else, so I figured I was safe. I mean, I had read a million times that LE never really bothered with small time users.

So, one day I went to my mailbox, and there is my priority shipping envelope. I didn't notice anything wrong with it, it looked the same as every other piece of mail I had recieved. Anyone who didn't know what it was would assume it was one of those junk mail credit card offers, or something. I made the walk back to my apartment, put it on my kitchen counter and started to get ready for work.

I had maybe been inside for all of two minutes before I hear two loud knocks on my door, a man yelling police, and then my door is broke down. The time between the yell and the door falling in was maybe two seconds. Four cops come in, weapons drawn, and tell me to put my hands up and turn away from the sound of their voice. As soon as I do that I'm put down on my floor and handcuffed.

Right away they find where I put my mail, and start asking me who sent it to me. Mind you, I'm terrified at this point, and in my panic all I can do is say I don't know over and over again. They then ask me what was in the package, and again I say I don't know, because in my mind I'm thinking no way would they do this over an ounce of pot.

They lift me up and walk me to a police car, and I sit in there for about an hour while they take a bunch of boxes that I got ecig juice mailed in and for some reason clothes I had in my apartment. After this I get read my rights (which actually doesn't sound at all like it does on law and order) and find out I'm being arrested for possession with intent to sell. I get taken to booking, they put me in this room where I sit for what seems like forever. I'm just running through my head with everything I learned from reddit and every youtube "dont trust the police" video. After what seems like forever a guy comes in, and starts to talk about how sorry it took so long to get to me and stuff, and I ask for a lawyer before he's even done. He gets this kinda pissy look, and says "if thats how you want to play it" and leaves.

I always thought they kept like... a room of lawyers or something, ready to go, but it's actually almost two days later before i get to see anybody. I was kept in detention until then, which is basically just a room with a cot and a tv. When he finally gets there, he asks me what was going on, what they asked, what I said and I explain everything that had happened so far. He seemed pretty pleased I hadnt said anything, and then asks me to tell him what was really going on, and that anything I told him couldn't be used against me and how he would need to know to plan my defense, if it came to that.

So, I told him everything, and he says he didn't even know things like that existed. Considering he's a public defender in a pretty major city, I guess that proves anecdotally at least that people don't often get busted for DNM purchases.

He tells me to deny everything, that I didn't know who mailed me what, and just play ignorant of the whole thing. After this, he is with me for my police interview. They go over pretty much what you would expect. Who did I buy it from, who was I planning on selling to, that if I didn't know who sent it had I made anyone angry lately, etc.

I play dumb and keep to my line of, "I have no idea, I just picked up my mail that day like usual and this happened."

They tell me they know I had been purchasing for awhile, and had caught me on video buying a few times. Right then it kind of clicks that they had no idea where I ordered it from, unless they had a camera in my house. So I keep to my "I don't know nothing," line. I spend another few days in detention, and then I get brought before a judge, charged with possession with intent to distribute. I pay 500 for bail and get to go home.

I go back in for another interview, and they offer to reduce it to a simple possession charge, I would do 50 hours of community service and walk after that. I thought that sounded pretty good, but my lawyer told me to stick to I didn't do anything wrong story. I say no, and I get a court date.

I think I may have actually set a record for fastest dismissal. All they presented against me was that a package addressed to me had a controlled substance inside it. My lawyer basically said "I could mail a letter full of anything I wanted to every bully I ever met, make an anonymous tip, and get anyone arrested."

The judge asked the guy prosecuting if he had anything else to present, he said no, and bam. Charge dismissed. Didn't even have to go to a jury.

To be honest, I had a few things play in my favor that you can't really count on. I had no criminal record of any kind, and I was also in the process of moving and had my pipe and hookah already at the new place. I hadn't signed anything connecting it to me yet, which is why I assume they didn't search it.

But I really gotta say most of all, I didn't blab about anything when they asked, and I got a lawyer right away, who convinced me not to take a deal which would have given me a record. I realize there isn't any truly "new" information in this post, but if you ever get caught maybe something here can help you out.


Comments


[205 Points] DriftDigital:

Good lawyer, send him an xmas card.


[164 Points] TheDrugUser:

See kids, this is why you always get a lawyer, no matter WHAT


[64 Points] reddituser100101001:

All that time and money spent on some personal weed. Crazy to imagine how many people are serving time to satisfy the business of prison for similar offenses.


[48 Points] Etizoops:

I always thought they kept like... a room of lawyers or something, ready to go

I'm sorry but that was pretty funny.


[31 Points] SirChasm:

I get brought before a judge, charged with possession with intent to distribute. I pay 500 for bail

You know how I know you're white?


[29 Points] None:

[deleted]


[15 Points] durgsrbad:

How large was the package you were 'found' with? And did you gain any insight into how they found it, or do we just assume it was a postmsater who happened to be awake?

Regardless, cracking job on the whole affair. We'll do a whip-around and get you a few new pairs of underpants.


[12 Points] fishandchips88:

Everyone has the opportunity to keep their mouth shut, but few have the ability. Good for you!!


[10 Points] jadedsynk:

Shitty situation, but you did exactly what you were supposed to do. Good on ya OP.


[6 Points] StongArmHighJack:

So no CD, are you in The U.S? that probably were you lucked out, the police didnt know what they were doing. Do you still order to that addy?


[6 Points] seraph77:

This is weird on so many different levels. Were they just 4 straight-up uniformed police? Were they tac'd/swat'd out?

It sounds like they were tipped off, but if it was found in transit, they might have a police escort, but I would think there would be at least a specialist or two present. They would probably have done a CD too. To me, this sounds like someone dropped a dime that you'd be receiving a package full of contraband that day.

The only people who would have known the exact day though, would be you, the vendor, or someone you told.

Also, they obviously had to have a warrant; what did they use as the justification for raiding your house?


[6 Points] billnyethethrowaway:

All I can say after reading all this, all I can say is WOWZERS!

My asshole would have puckered so hard my seat would have gone missing.

Question now, would you do it again? And do you suspect your vendor has tipped the LE off or just random draw?


[5 Points] None:

[deleted]


[5 Points] Trying2beAnon:

So wait.. Police never seized anything when they arrested you?? Computers, Laptops, harddrives, cellphones? You either have awesome opsec or shitty police detectives.


[4 Points] None:

So much money and time wasted over something people should be free to use if they should choose so.


[6 Points] 13tom13:

is it possible the vendor was flipped by LE so all they got was your address when he ordered but theoretically anyone could have pgp encrypted your address and sent it to the vendor. Seems like they were pretty sure you made the order (the cops) and were trying to get you to admit it.


[4 Points] ianrubbish:

This sucks, but congrats on beating the system. Someday hopefully everyone will have it as easy as we do here in CO. I walked into a store yesterday and got my December supply, as it should be.


[3 Points] None:

Very good post, thanks for sharing!


[3 Points] drpnit:

amazing story. thank you for sharing.


[3 Points] Paleampersand:

what country was this in?


[3 Points] pinkpanther227:

Who was the vendor.


[3 Points] All_the_white_people:

That's how a lawyer works.... 99.9% of cases never see a jury because it can go either way and you get charged more money.


[3 Points] spolio:

there's our tax dollars hard at work, trying to keep obvious kingpins/cartels off the streets, how come no one got shot?


[3 Points] None:

Did anyone notice that you were in jail for a week? What did your employer say?


[2 Points] Slow_ass_Deposits:

I had maybe been inside for all of two minutes before I hear two loud knocks on my door, a man yelling police, and then my door is broke down. The time between the yell and the door falling in was maybe two seconds. Four cops come in, weapons drawn, and tell me to put my hands up and turn away from the sound of their voice. As soon as I do that I'm put down on my floor and handcuffed.

For smoking weed? Jesus fucking christ, this sounds like straight up nazism. The militarization of american police and the war on drugs has horrifying consequences. I am glad it worked out for you.


[2 Points] ratiur254:

What I really need to know is...........did you get the "evidence" back?


[1 Points] keepitcasualbrah:

Balling son! Inspiration. Glad you made it out dude.


[1 Points] DMNTrowaway:

When did this happen?


[1 Points] Twittermon:

Why does it seem like every post one here that deals with being caught by LE usually ends up with just a slap on the wrist


[1 Points] KarmaTaBurn:

Congratulations OP...that is a huge weight off your shoulders.

Were they Feds or local PD?


[1 Points] None:

thanks for sharing..glad it worked out for you...any idea on how they got wind of you?


[1 Points] None:

Thanks for the story, stay safe


[1 Points] Jaymacmac:

Well played.


[1 Points] BrippingTalls:

Well done. Thank you for sharing. Best of luck to you.


[1 Points] 666fun:

Congratulations! You fought the law and you won!

I think readers should note a couple of things though...

OpSec for a buyer is next to meaningless, aside from the most obvious stuff (don't tell people you're ordering onlnel etc). But besides that, there's not much a buyer can do to cover their tracks. Indeed, as the detectives helpfully pointed out (correct me if I'm wrong), the postal authorities have apparently been obtaining warrants to check your mail for some time now, and have just been releasing your packages back into the system rather than confiscate them.

Secondly, too many people assume that cops won't go after small offenses. Except, they do, which is precisely why our prisons are overflowing with first-time, non-violent marijuana possessions. Not that police will go out of their way seeking these out, but a case is served their, they'll after it.

Why aren't there more busts of DNM buyers then? Why was you attorney unfamiliar with Darknets?

First, for OP specifically, you're in a city. I know city's vary from one to the next, but densely populated urban areas are generally the source of high quality, low priced drugs in this country, as they're basically hubs along whichever course the drugs will take.

LE had been aware of the markets' existence for years before they took down the first SR. What they announced sounded great for the news bites - 1.2 million user accounts for a site with world-wide read. Lets say that 1 million of those are US accountholders - that averages out to what, 20,000 DNM account holders per state.

According to Google, there are 24 million drug uSErs in the united states (yuuuuuseems low, maybe that 24 milion iisn't including potheads. Google also said there's around 1.2 million drug arrests per year, or about 5%. lLl: So, all things being the 20,000 DNM users in your state could result in 1,000 new DNM related arrests. But they not equal. For starters, the user base is probablly not nearly as concentrated in the US as i estimated earlier. Additionally, one can't assume that an account on a DNM means there was an actual order.

As for arrests themselves.. arresting DNM buys is a VERY labor intensive actiity. Meanwhile people who buy off the street, I would again offer to bet money that the events leading to their arrests weren't because of solid police police work or a length investigation but because of expired tags, a missing headlight or break light silly like that.

Whats my point? I had one originally. But my brain is fried, havng only gotten 3 hours of slept the last 4-5 day. But thus took an extrairdinary amount of time to type, owing mostly to my sleep depreivedmind. So i'm leaving this now, clicking post, and moving on to the turkey part of my day...


[1 Points] nmanjee:

Im curious to how they detected the marijuana in the first place and what grounds for the warrant to either search the package or your home.


[1 Points] Dr_Bishop:

I was also in the process of moving and had my pipe and hookah already at the new place.

This was what I kept waiting for. If you had paraphernalia, even if it was an illegal search I still think you would have gotten a record.

That was a lucky break.


[1 Points] futuredracula:

you kinda sound like the man tbh


[1 Points] Alex132:

Nice. I feel so much safer now. Happy thanksgiving


[1 Points] AlwaysDankrupt:

This story seems fake? Why would you get charged with intent to sell if they had no evidence? They didn't even take your computer?


[1 Points] MuhammadTheProfit:

I'm assuming no computer was confiscated?


[1 Points] ZeroH0ur:

I am shocked that your lawyer allowed you to say ANYTHING to the police. Seems to me a good lawyer would have told them to fuck off. Get what you pay for I guess. You were smarter than many, but also lucky.


[1 Points] None:

Saddest part of this story is the tax-payers money wasted on bullshit like this. Why do we pay these cops again?


[1 Points] DarkNetTarget:

That's awesome news man, I'm glad you stuck with your story and didn't take the possession plea. Fuck intent to distribute for just an oz.... is percy amount imo for many people.... Anything more than a HP is where I'd consider that to be dealing territory. And even so... it's fucking weed lol.. I'm glad you are safe, and good on you for not saying shit to the cops till you got a lawyer. This is the example every dnm user should remember in case of unfortunate events like this happening. I hope this never happens to you again.


[1 Points] None:

He seemed pretty pleased I hadnt said anything, and then asks me to tell him what was really going on, and that anything I told him couldn't be used against me and how he would need to know to plan my defense, if it came to that. So, I told him everything, and he says he didn't even know things like that existed. Considering he's a public defender in a pretty major city, I guess that proves anecdotally at least that people don't often get busted for DNM purchases. He tells me to deny everything, that I didn't know who mailed me what, and just play ignorant of the whole thing.

thats illegal for a lawyer to do. you should never tell them "what really happened" you should tell them exactly the facts that fit your legal defense. lawyers actually can't lie. and a public defender has NO reason to lose his job for you.


[0 Points] SgtFaecesProcessor:

One thought I had is when they knocked your door down you should have said "how do I know who sent it to me when I haven't even opened it yet?" And if they kept questioning you, not freak out and just say calmly (ie: not like a guilty man) "I don't know [who sent me that]."

But yeah, it really does sound like a lot of stuff that is caught is good old fashioned police work. Nothing to do with using TAILS or a tumbler or PGP etc, anything computer based. Much more to do with dumb luck and making sure a vendor is kosher.


[0 Points] samwhiskey:

You're lucky you tumbled your coins or you'd be in the federal pen right now.

Edit: forgot the /s


[-2 Points] Shillsandthrills:

weird how I knew this post was bullspitty before I even clicked on it....

actually not even weird at all posts about arrests or controlled deliveries etc. are always falsehood typed up by that week's attention seeker.


[-4 Points] None:

you told a PUBLIC DEFENDER "what really happened"? Not sure this was the best idea.


[-11 Points] None:

This is got to be the same guy that threw his fruit loops across the room. Come on really? So two ounces of weed looked lIke regular junk mail like the credit card offer shit? That's some chunky junk mail bro. 4 cops with weapons drawn? 4 cops? What you in Ferguson or something? Your interrogation scenario has some holes in it because you watch to much fkn tv bro. Let me explain how this works now seeing the laws have changed a few years back...

You ask for a lawyer and they keep questioning you

you ask for a lawyer and they say they don't care

you ask for a lawyer and they lie and tell you they know shit they dont. That you won't be in trouble and your really a good dude so just tell them.

Basically the way it is now is you have the right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself and they have the right to ask you 100 times to incriminate yourself. Then you might see your.lawyer or you get bonded out then you see your lawyer. No way you asked and they said "if that's how you want to play it"

Seriously why even bother with this sort of crap? 4 cops with guns out? Maybe for an active shooter. For intent to sell 2 ozs of weed? Its just so stupid seriously