NCJ Number
130377
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 57 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1990) Pages: 48-51
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Basic undercover tactics for careful flashroll management are listed to maximize undercover agent safety during negotiation of an illegal drug transaction.
Abstract
Buy/bust scenarios are among the most dangerous in drug law enforcement, particularly when the drugs and money are in the same place. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uses the traditional triangle in undercover tactical training to depict the threat facing an undercover agent. The triangle represents the dealer's dynamic balance (drugs, money, freedom) with the officer in the middle of the triangle. In handling the flashroll, the undercover agent should never let the dealer know or think he knows the location of the flashroll. The best way to learn to handle the flashroll is to watch a streetwise drug trafficker handle his product. Specifically, the money should never be flashed twice unless absolutely necessary; the flashroll should be moved as soon as possible after display; the officer should never move to a second location with the flashroll in his possession; and the drug dealer should not be tipped about the money being flashed.