The Story That Nails the Arrogance & Stupidity of the Drug War

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http://www.alternet.org/drugs/story-nails-arrogance-stupidity-drug-war



Every so often, powerful government officials pull a stunt so arrogant and stupid you have to wonder whether they've lost their minds.

Such was the case in a lawsuit filed in Houston this week against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Courthouse News reporter Cameron Langford wrote in his Thursday story: "DEA officials 'commandeered' a small businessman's truck and left him to pay for the damage after it was 'shot to smithereens' in a shootout between federal agents and the Zeta drug cartel."

That's right: Without telling the businessman, who owned two trucks, the DEA arranged for him to hire an undercover snitch to drive a load of dope in one. But the Zetas got wise, shot the truck to pieces, killing the snitch and wounding a sheriff's deputy - and the DEA stuck the businessman with the bill for the bullet-riddled truck.

Then the DEA had the brass to demand to search the poor businessman's house.