Jon we are going to need to get whole another section of the forum dedicated to your paranoid delusions.

Dude just to ease all your paranoia if the DEA was staking you out you aint gonna see them. If you do see someone stakin out its more then likely neighborhood watch. We once had to take pictures of the woman taking pictures of us and file a harrasment complaint on her. We never took it any farther but she stopped stalking the house.

Its in some people blood to play private eye so keep that in mind.

Theres also alot of stuff running thru tweekers blood that makes them think the world revolves around them and every new van...person... dog... cat... is all there to spy on them..

Do you even know 100% that this DEA agent called your step dad because I doubt they would do that for someone under invesigation and it sounds to me like your step dad is just trying to play private eye himself.

Point being lighten the fuck up the shadow people will go away when the drugs where off ya nut. Move to the country where ya dont have any neighbors and your bipolar can rest in piece trust me on this one. Then if ya live a mile away from anyother house and see vans and people out front of your house you know whats up instead of assuming.

Yes.

IF you happen to see a nondescript van parked on the street in your neighborhood you have never seen before, that isn't parked in a driveway as such, but on the street (usually the case) note where its parked and how long its been in that spot. Note when it moves if it moves near the original location or not, or if it moves several houses away, or to a different street. If the latter happens, you can suspect the van's operator is interested in something in the neighborhood, rather than being related to a particular residence. One appearance of such a vehicle may or may not mean a thing, but the appearance of such a vehicle in conjunction with being contacted by a former buddy who wants to get something not legally for sale, or the appearance of someone who wants to talk about past criminal activity... should be a red flag to you. Unusual activity particularized to your location combined with the presence of such a nondescript vehicle in the neighborhood may be a sign of LE attempting an undercover purchase and recording that purchase.

Frankly, the police where I live don't have the opinion they need to be quite so surveillance oriented. They have a habit of driving by the scene of a recorded buy in another vehicle as its being made. You wouldn't believe the plain, on-the-street videos we see in drug buys from time to time.

Small police departments are not noted for sophisticated surveillance. The state investigators, the feds, and larger police and sheriff's groups... are that sophisticated and do conduct surveillance over time.

It is wise to be familiar with who drives what in your neighborhood, and how the vehicles change. If you blow off an obvious clue because you are not paying attention, you have only yourself to blame.

That said, three times out of four a client has talked about a suspicious van in the neighborhood, its been some kid visiting a friend. A fourth of the time it was the drug task force guys, keeping an eye on someone they got a tip on.

 

News flash - the majority of drug intelligence comes from fucking pricks who give people up. If you are dealing with such people, then you need your head read.

However, in this case, if Jon has done the "importations" claimed, it may well be Federal, thus sophisticated as all get out. Go read some literature on 'ACTUAL' Federal operations, the one where the DEA took down the Angels, also see the book 'Chemical Cowboys', which deals with the busting of the Israeli "e" dealers...

For the majority of the people but, steer clear of anyone and everyone who goes out of their way to be noticeable in the business, they are either working to see their end of a deal upheld, or actually undercover. Make fucking certain you know who introduced such people onto the scene, if the only intro's they have are people who suddenly seem to almost miraculously avoid serious jail time for being busted, then alarm bells should be ringing. People who supposedly "know" what they are doing, but brazenly flout the basic rules of drug dealers everywhere, like sending people to collect debts on their behalf from dealers they don't know (actually had that happen to me once, went half an hour early, the other person didn't know what the fuck was going on, I left, returned 15 minutes after the original appointed time, to see several D cars and the dealer being led out in cuffs). Number one, trust your instincts - but don't trust your paranoia... How to tell the difference? Can't explain it, comes down to living the life for any length of time with your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut.

There are rules governing the world you are now choosing to inhabit, these rules are unknown to most (including wannabees whose only criminal activity/association comes from dealing with fucking clowns), but they are firm rules, with serous consequences attendant upon them. These consequences are enforced without pity or restraint. The people involved for any length of time, generally know one another, from school, from "work", from other fuckups and also from jail. Your "name" is all you have at the end, rockspiders, dogs and narcs are all known to anyone who is anyone, their "name" is mud. How to get a "name"? I seriously suggest you don't, you won't like the work that comes with it, the endless cycle of fuckups and consequences...

Hate to say this Jon, but take a good hard look at the paragraph above and work out where you fit...

Don't let them see any of the equipment.  Start talking about how your car tires were made.  How their tea leaves were picked.  It's better to have them think your some autistic loony or some weird, obsessive know-it-all that likes rambling about random shit than a meth cook.

You can't trust anyone just because people talk too much.  Someone who's your closest friend and would never rat you out is more than happy to brag about how cool and smart her friend is who made the X she's taking.  People are idiots.. everyone wants to feel like he's a part of something without regard for the consequences.

Ever heard the joke about 2 guys going camping on a Safari tour in Africa...

Early in the morning they are woken to find a large, hungry lion outside their tent... One immediately starts to put on his running shoes, the other asks him what the fuck he is doing, there is no way he's gonna outrun the lion...

He says, calmly, I don't have to outrun the lion, I only have to outrun YOU

The point being, be the hardest target you can be... The people you are afraid of have limited resources and have to deal with their superiors, who want results not stories about near misses.

Never take MDMA while dealing for a START (acid is ok, I've dealt on that more times than I can remember), it clouds reality and makes talking WAY too easy, plus when bad shit happens in my experience, it happens fast while your guard is down, MDMA is one drug that makes THAT entirely too likely. Don't drink and/or socialise whilst working, if you are dealing you no longer have friends that take drugs, they are all customers, who are quite likely to want to take you down to avoid paying what they owe. Don't smoke pot, or allow others to do so while in your premises, finding a bong is all that LE need to justify their warrant, if they KNOW they will find something they won't even have to think twice before they get one.

Wake up and smell the roses, you are playing a fucking dangerous game and sooner or later I hate to tell you, the 'game' will show its nasty side (most people only realize it ain't a game about then). Being able to acquire drugs does not a dealer make, the skill is in shifting them to the people who not only want them, but will pay for them, without incurring the penalties involved with too much notice being taken of your activities. I've known a LOT of people who can find/acquire/make drugs, I've known very fucking few who could shift them properly, effectively, quietly and safely.

Also be aware, that it is quite possible that you too will one day be overjoyed that the large armed men kicking your door down are ONLY LE if you persist in this 'game', people who do so without being (a) known or (b) protected, generally get their arses robbed violently. In fact, even with both (a) & (b), the shit still happens.

I know how you feel Jon. Paranoia is something that comes with the biz. I change where I live every week and never stay under my name all because some retard got caught with an ounce and got probation..... Btw, and I assure a completely unrelated concern, if some retard fingers you but they can't get any evidence on you because they don't know where the fuck you are or where the fuck to raid and all it comes down is he said/he said is there much to worry about? I mean how much of a quality case is it when all they got is some low-life pointing the finger at you?

I could not in good conscience recommend anyone get involved in the drug biz at any level except for weed and possibly prescriptions. Those two are the only places where sane entrepreneurs should venture. Anything other then weed or prescriptions is sheer stupidity. Unfortunately some find out too late. And it is sad.

Actually, big white panel vans are somewhat of a rarity.  Those are reserved for Hollywood DEA agents  All their surveillance equipment fits easily in a regular and far less suspicious looking minivan now day.  When spotting government operations, you have to look for the fine, subtle details, not stuff that sticks out like a sore thumb.  Darker that usual tint, or brake calipers/discs that don't look like they came with that car originally.  Even take a peek at the exhaust system - if it's a late 90's early 2000's car, and the exhaust system is rust free, it might help clue you in to something.

Over the fall, a couple months before I was arrested, the cops used to drive by my house maybe twelve times a day.  All the sudden this maroon caravan parked outside my house, but down the street a little bit.  New, oversized calipers, brand new license plates and registration.  Someone who just bought a new vehicle doesn't usually park their baby in the street at first, but every driveway on my street was empty.  Also, during the day, you couldn't see through the tinted windows in the back, and minivans are not tinted that dark from the factory.  The police also stopped doing their twelve drive bys.  In fact, they stopped all together.  I of course stopped doing anything that might even be construed as illegal (though I was never doing anything illegal).  When the van didn't move after three days, I parked my jeep within two inches of it's back bumper, and my car within 2 or 3 inches of it's front bumper.  If it was a neighbor, they would simply walk to my door and ask me to move my vehicles so they could get out.  After six more days, it didn't move.  It became a pain to ask my friends for a ride everywhere, just so I could spite the feds, so when I drove off in my jeep once to get some food, the van disappeared, and I haven't seen it since.

No investigations were mentioned in my discovery during court, so I have to think either A) I was being paranoid or B) they didn't find any evidence worthwhile enough to write about.  The police will never ever include the slightest bit of evidence in your discovery that can actually be used to help you.  If for example if they wrote "a 9 day investigation was conducted but called off because defendant did not appear to be doing anything illegal", even a public defender could exploit the hell out of that.