Drugs, Inc. (2010–…): Season 0, Episode 0 - Cokeland - full transcript

NARRATOR: Monday morning.

Oakland, California.

At the local morgue,

it's the busiest day

of the week.

DR. BEAVER: Mondays are

our busiest day,

because we accumulate

the cases over the weekend.

NARRATOR: It's Dr. Beaver's job

to find the cause of death.



This is

a 40-year-old woman.

We think

she might have overdosed.

NARRATOR: In Oakland,

the drug trade

is the cause of most of them.

DR. BEAVER: This gentleman here

was found on the couch

of his residence

with methamphetamine

and alcohol on the table

in front of him.

This is a 48-year-old woman.



We think

she's a cocaine overdose.

NARRATOR: In this city,

the drug dealers run wild.

And the death toll

is spiraling out of control.

DR. BEAVER:

What I see in this job

as a result of the drugs

is a lot of human tragedy.

NARRATOR:

While the bodies pile up.

DR. BEAVER: When we look

at our non-natural deaths,

almost all of them

will be related to drugs

in one way or another.

NARRATOR: Just six miles

across the Bay from

San Francisco is Oakland.

Home of Northern California's

busiest port

and one of the most diverse

populations in the country.

But Oakland has been rocked

by a $58 million deficit

and a police corruption scandal

decimating officer manpower

and morale.

It's become known as the city

with half a police force...

and is running violently

out of control.

Illegal sideshows

tear up the city streets...

often ending in violence.

-(gunshots)

-(screaming)

(bleep)

(gunfire)

And gun fights

on street corners

happen in broad daylight.

(gunshots)

I got stuck up

in this chair, man.

I got shot seven times out here.

Trying to be a part

of the street life,

now I'm stuck in it.

NARRATOR: Red was shot

over the right to sell drugs

on a nearby corner.

RED: Some guys pulled up,

rode past.

I didn't pay no mind to 'em.

I knew these guys.

They came back, walked up on me.

Shot me. Stood over me.

They ain't do

what they supposed to do,

'cause I wouldn't be here

talking to you right now.

This is what happens.

But I'm gonna

deal with it now.

NARRATOR: His attackers

live only a few blocks away

and could come back

at any time.

MAN: That's all it's over,

is drugs.

It ain't gonna stop

till the world pops.

No guidance around here,

you know what I mean?

No guidance.

NARRATOR: Red was shot

in the most notorious housing

project in West Oakland.

Acorn.

We're gonna give you

a definition of Acorn.

It's called

"a crowd of ruthless ninjas."

NARRATOR: Here,

drugs and violence

are a way of life.

About to take you up

in the trap.

It's a trap beyond the trap,

man, you know what I'm saying?

NARRATOR: And chaos rules.

Yo, what's up with it, man?

We just showing y'all

how we get down over here

as far as our money

and these drugs go,

you feel me?

And these arms, man.

Feel me, (bleep).

MAN: Man, with these roxies

they call 'em, man.

I got shot in the head,

I ain't gonna lie,

so I get hella high.

This is promethazine

with codeine, you feel me?

You got the same thing

heroin got in it.

We call it "gorilla juice," man.

Straight up, man.

That's the juice,

we call that juice.

This is powdered cocaine

right here, man.

We call it

"window rolling," man,

'cause if you in your car, man,

and you're rolling up

the windows, man,

this is exactly

what you're doing, man.

We rolling 'em

in the window.

Roll that window up, man.

You hear me?

MAN: Keep rolling the window.

We rolling this window,

you hear me?

We don't get nothing

but the best out here, man,

you know, that's why

they call it Cokeland,

man, you hear me?

(sniffing)

NARRATOR: For years,

the Acorn mob ruled

West Oakland's drug scene.

Now the violence threatens

even their power.

This another place right here

where we can watch.

We can watch

who's coming in and out

right here.

NARRATOR: JD has lived

in the projects all his life.

JD: We, like, the most hated

in Oakland, California.

They come through out here

and shoot at us every day.

There's been a shooting out here

at one time

for a month straight.

NARRATOR: And the gun battles

happen right outside JD's door.

They shot this place up.

These right here,

these are bullet holes

right here.

Cats came through here

and shot up the lobby one time.

It's... It's rough out here.

(sirens wailing)

NARRATOR: The drug market

in West Oakland

has become a free-for-all.

And the dealers are locked

in a new battle for supremacy.

MAN: It's like

a bucket full of crabs.

You in a bucket full of crabs,

man, you trying to get out, man,

they gonna pull you down.

NARRATOR: The only way

to stay on top

is to sell product more potent

than your competition.

MAN: You ever heard

of John Belushi?

The Belushi brothers, you know?

When they OD'd off of Belushis.

That's why when you mix

the powder

and the heroin together,

we call this Belushi,

you feel what I'm saying?

Best thing going since

pimping and whoring, man.

(snorts)

(bleep)

NARRATOR: In Acorn,

dealers are known for

selling Belushis pre-packaged.

And nothing boosts

their business

more than an overdose.

DOUBLE D: If you have

some good dope,

you might get somebody

that OD on it,

and then once that's out,

the Double D,

he got some OD dope.

Everybody's gonna come to you,

because you got

the best product.

This right here,

this is cocaine,

which is raw powder,

that's what I like.

And this is heroin.

NARRATOR: Belushis

are a staple in Oakland's

hard-core drug scene.

DOUBLE D: I can take

this ten sack of heroin

and turn it into $20 to $30.

NARRATOR: Double D

triples his money

by bulking out the heroin.

DOUBLE D: And in this bottle

is the cut.

NARRATOR: The recipe

is his own trade secret.

DOUBLE D: I'm gonna take

a little bit of this,

put it in here.

You have to put the bag on,

so it won't escape

and you won't lose product.

(whirring)

NARRATOR: Even losing dust

bites into Double D's profit,

so he takes special care

with the most valuable

ingredient, cocaine.

DOUBLE D: And we call it

out here "pay-pay,"

"girl," "Christina Aguilera,"

whatever.

NARRATOR: These two drugs

work on the body

in opposite ways.

Cocaine is an upper

and heroin, a downer.

DOUBLE D:

You might feel the coke first,

then you speed.

Then the heroin kicks in,

and you're down.

By mixing them together,

the high lasts longer.

NARRATOR: But just

even making Belushis

can be dangerous.

If a person don't use,

and you're blending this,

and you inhale the fumes,

you can get addicted to it.

My family's known

in the drug trade,

so you can say

I was born into it.

Now I have a habit,

so I have to do something

to keep money in my pocket

to keep getting this every day.

(sniffs)

NARRATOR: The Belushis

are loaded into balloons,

and then Double D

gives them to his workers

to sell on the street.

DOUBLE D: You keep 20

in your mouth at a time.

The person that

has them in their mouth,

we call them "spitters."

When a person come by,

spit it out in your hand,

give it to 'em.

But if the police

ride up on you,

it's easier to swallow,

and then you can throw it up.

NARRATOR: Double D

hand-picks his workers

from among his closest

friends and family.

DOUBLE D: Let's say

you have four workers...

Two look-outs and two spitters.

If your spot is doing good,

you know,

you might start 'em off

with a 500 bundle.

NARRATOR: The workers

are paid a commission.

DOUBLE D: They either get $20,

it might be $30,

off of each $100 that they sell.

The rest of the money is yours.

You could be making

$1,000 within three days,

depending on the product.

NARRATOR: Profits like these

encourage more dealers

to join the drug trade

and enter into

the violent competition.

(dog barking)

But standing in their way

is an elite team

of undercover detectives

who form their own

specialist drug unit.

MAN ON RADIO: Do you copy?

One gram of dope

versus a ton of dope?

It's the same thing.

You're a drug dealer,

then I'll take you

off the street.

I'll chase you all day long.

NARRATOR: Today, Derrick's team

is doing an undercover purchase

of methamphetamine

from a known drug dealer.

He is moving anywhere

between two to five pounds

of methamphetamine

every other day.

What we don't have is

exactly where he lives.

NARRATOR: The objective

is to bust his network,

but first they need

to gather crucial intel.

HESSELEIN:

We want to follow him

and gain as much intelligence

that we can on him.

That's the whole reason

why we're buying

what we're buying today.

NARRATOR: The team arranges

to meet the dealer

in the parking lot of

a busy Oakland shopping mall.

Here, an undercover cop

will make a deal

to buy four ounces of meth

costing $2,000.

HESSELEIN: We're spending

a lot of money today,

so make sure you guys

got your A-game

up and running here.

NARRATOR: The cops move into

their surveillance positions

inside the parking lot.

HESSELEIN:

This particular area's

pretty well-known

for drug trafficking.

A lot of people

like to meet here.

We've got a subject

on the phone, blue shorts,

walking through the lot,

looking around left and right.

NARRATOR:

Dealers often work in teams

with lookouts on the alert.

HESSELEIN:

We might need to duck.

NARRATOR: Seconds later...

OFFICER ON RADIO: I got him.

NARRATOR:

...the dealer's car arrives.

HESSELEIN: Here we go.

Making his way

through the parking lot

Making a U-turn

HESSELEIN: He's making U-turns.

Making sure that

he hasn't been followed.

Out of the vehicle

walking in your direction

HESSELEIN: Yeah,

affirm 01, I got it.

He's right through

those trees over there.

(camera clicking)

OFFICER ON RADIO:

Good deal,was a good deal.

HESSELEIN: We got him.

NARRATOR: Now Derrick

and his team must follow

the dealer's car home.

OFFICER: Making a left

out eastbound.

NARRATOR: All he has to do

is stay on his tail.

HESSELEIN: This is where

it's gonna get a little hectic.

NARRATOR: Derrick Hesselein

and his team

of undercover detectives

are pursuing

a methamphetamine dealer

through Oakland city streets.

HESSELEIN: What you worry about

is losing 'em.

Hopefully we see

exactly where he goes.

NARRATOR: The dealer's

destination could reveal

which network he belongs to.

OFFICER: I definitely saw

the vehicle go in the driveway.

NARRATOR: The team has tracked

the dealer to his home,

half an hour

outside of Oakland.

OFFICER: Out of the car,

he's gonna be going inside.

HESSELEIN: We got him.

Hey, Foster, it's Hesselein,

how you doing?

Can you trip a plate for me?

Narcotics dealers

think that they're safe

from law enforcement

in the suburbs.

They live this fake life.

In some instances,

their families actually believe

they have a real job.

So you never really know

who lives next door to you.

(dog barking)

NARRATOR: Now Derrick

will plan for a raid

on the dealer's property.

The meth his team bought

holds a clue

to who runs the network.

HESSELEIN: That's good dope.

We see 96% to 98% purity

in these shards of glass.

These are all tied

to Mexican cartels.

NARRATOR: This is just

the first step in cracking

a drug trafficking gang.

Ultimately, we're trying

to climb the ladder

to the next person,

and that's our main goal.

Let's cut

the snake's head off.

NARRATOR: Derrick and his team

have so far seized

nearly $10 million

in illegal narcotics.

But in a city as out of control

as Oakland,

for every dealer

they take down,

there's another one coming up.

Well, Oakland,

I'd say it's like

a big playground to me.

I know where to go,

I know the right kind

of people to deal with.

It's definitely

an easy place to stay high

if you wanna stay high.

Most of the time,

someone else needs drugs,

and they're scared to go there,

so they pay me to go for them,

and I usually charge

10 or 20 bucks per run

to go get drugs.

I've been skating,

I'd say, 15 years now.

I was sponsored

and filming and taking photos,

was in magazines,

things like that.

NARRATOR: Tom was a ranked

skater as a teenager.

Five years later,

he's a crack addict.

Had a back injury

maybe four or five years ago.

My drug use got heavier

after that,

especially opiates

to deal with the pain

and just kind of stayed with me.

NARRATOR: Back home,

Tom gets ready to take a hit of

his current drug of choice...

This is about $20 worth

of crack roughly right here.

NARRATOR:

...with a homemade pipe.

I got some tinfoil here,

a pen, and a piece of Brillo.

This is kind of

an old-school trick.

If you don't have a pipe,

you can always do this.

Pretty medium-size hit

right here.

NARRATOR: Crack produces

feelings of euphoria

and supreme confidence.

TOM: When you smoke crack,

you wanna hold it in

as long as you can,

or else it's kind of a waste.

When you hold it in

for a long time,

you get kind of a head rush.

Oh, yeah.

Well, I can tell

this is good quality

just by the taste.

I'm always wanting more,

but it's such

a short-lived high,

this isn't gonna last me

very long, these big hits

I'm taking, but, um...

(phone rings)

Sorry. I'm gonna check

my phone real quick.

Yo, what's up, man?

Hey, do you still need that?

NARRATOR: The call

is from an addict

who is looking

for a crack runner.

TOM: Can you

break me off something?

'cause I'm not gonna come

all the way down there

for nothing, you know?

NARRATOR: But there's gotta be

something in it for Tom.

TOM: Let's say someone

gives me $40.

I go give the dealer money,

he gives me maybe five or six

bags of it for 40,

give me a deal.

Okay, that would work.

And then I go back

and give them four bags.

And then they'll give me $10

for doing the favor,

and then I go back

and spend that other 10.

So that means I just got

three bags for, you know,

spending 20 minutes of my time

getting them drugs.

When's good for you?

Okay, cool.

NARRATOR: Tom heads off

to find his dealer.

TOM: They call Oakland

"Cokeland, California."

There's so much crack

everywhere,

it's really not hard to find.

NARRATOR: It's only

a ten-minute skate.

TOM: Well, that was

a successful mission.

It was quick. Got it.

No one noticed anything.

No troubles.

NARRATOR: Tom skates off

to make the delivery

so he can get paid

and stay high.

For the dealers

on the next level,

it's all about the dollar.

You can give 'em four for twenty

People smoke this twenty

and they gonna sell that twenty

and come right back

For me, keeping the

customers coming back

I'm gonna sell

everybody some double-up

NARRATOR:

Jay has been a crack dealer

in Oakland for ten years.

He sells crack as double-ups,

offering two bags

for the price of one.

To do this

and still make money,

he cooks his crack

a special way.

We're gonna bounce

the seven grams of cocaine

and we're gonna turn this

into fourteen grams of hard

crack cocaine

NARRATOR:

Bouncing is an Oakland trick

to make more profit

from your coke.

I'm gonna show you

how to get a little bit of money

NARRATOR: Regular crack

cooking heats the coke in water

with an easily available

household chemical.

The chemical and the water

are then poured off,

reducing the yield.

Regular cooking with water

you're gonna cook

the **** right out

of the cocaine

when you're cooking the hard

NARRATOR: But bouncing,

or dry cooking,

melts the coke

right into the chemical

without adding water,

producing more bulk and profit.

Dry cooking

you're gonna lock

the **** in the cocaine

You want all your grams

That's your extra money

You give all the dope

fiends what they want

it's all profit

Watch this

NARRATOR: Jay mixes the coke

into the chemical

over the stove.

This is where your

patience come in

cook it nice and slow

NARRATOR: After a few minutes,

the mix needs

a final blast of heat.

Now to start

the microwave process

I'm gonna lock this **** up

(beeps)

NARRATOR: Now Jay has

a solid block of crack

with added weight.

This the finished product

Straight solid quarter,

it's about fourteen grams

Solid!

NARRATOR: By bouncing cocaine,

in less than half an hour,

Jay has doubled his money.

Seven grams of cocaine cost

around $250

I'm gonna make $500 off this

NARRATOR:

But he's still gotta sell it.

And in a city

with half a police force,

it's dangerous

even for the dealers.

When all this **** went down

It made it rough for everybody

NARRATOR: Now ambitious dealers

have started robbing each other

to make more money.

And that means Jay

must protect his business.

You step on my toes

this is what happen

I got peoples

they don't sell drugs

they don't do nothing

they kick back and

wait on the phone call

They take care of the ********

for a ******* like me

We call them hyenas

youngsters with no sense

They gonna hunt you down

and eat you up on the streets

with blood in their mouth

laughing

(laughs)

NARRATOR: Last year,

there were 131 homicides

in the city.

And in Oakland,

if you wanna kill a man,

this is who you go to see.

Certain individuals,

they might call me and say

they might need something.

Something is

what you see on the table.

Drug dealers,

they've gotta protect

they self.

I might supply them,

I might not, but...

(indistinct)

This is what they call

a chopper.

AK-47.

Fold-out stock.

Got the double clips

and the hand grip,

'cause this thing

like to bounce around.

NARRATOR:

Harley sells guns to dealers

who vie for control

of the streets.

Oakland is like

straight killing zone out here.

You could be at the taco truck,

you could be

walking out a store,

and it can just go down.

So you gotta be ready.

NARRATOR:

The escalating turf war

has started an arms race

on Oakland's corners.

This is another AK.

There's 100 rounds.

There we go.

And it's ready

for business, too.

NARRATOR: Harley's now selling

U.S. military-style hardware.

This is my favorite.

It's an AR-15 pistol.

Pop-up sights.

This is something

real special right here.

You ain't gonna see

too many of these.

NARRATOR: Oakland's

black market gun dealers

are selling weapons

in serious quantity.

I might get 30 guns a month,

make a 500 profit off each gun.

I ain't trying

to make a killing.

NARRATOR: Harley's best seller

isn't even a gun.

Gotta have

a bulletproof vest.

Got to.

Got a little metal plate.

It ain't gonna stop

one of these,

but it will help,

you know what I mean?

NARRATOR: Back in the morgue,

the staff receives delivery

of Oakland's latest

street victim.

His bulletproof vest

wasn't enough.

Here's one of four people

involved in a shootout.

In the exchange of gunfire,

he was killed.

NARRATOR: The paper bags

on his hands

are to preserve

gunpowder residue.

The police suspect

he was a shooter.

DR. BEAVER:

This is a 30-year-old male

involved in the same incident,

one of four people shot.

He was transported

from the scene

and underwent surgery

at the hospital.

He has a gunshot wound

to the head.

NARRATOR:

With 12 shootings in 24 hours,

it's been Oakland's most

violent weekend of the year.

DR. BEAVER:

The number of people involved

in any given incident

is increasing.

A few years ago,

you might have seen

just one or two people.

Now we'll see shootouts

with multiple victims,

multiple perpetrators.

NARRATOR: Dr. Beaver has been

a forensic pathologist

in Oakland

for only two years,

but that's enough time

to see some alarming changes.

DR. BEAVER: The level

of violence is going up

and it's the level

of violence per victim.

A few years ago,

we might have seen a victim with

one or maybe two gunshot wounds.

Now the victims come in

and they have

ten or 15 gunshot wounds.

NARRATOR: The high murder rate

is good for Harley's

gun business.

But now he's seeing a change

in the balance of power.

-(bells ringing)

-(train horn blows)

The Mexicans have arrived,

and they have brought their

own brand of ultra-violence.

HARLEY: Mexican gangs

do more harsh crimes.

They might cut your head off.

I mean, it ain't nothing

for them to do a drive-by.

The Mexican gang individuals

I deal with,

you know,

they might need 15 guns,

I know that one person

don't need no 15 guns.

He gotta supply his crew.

They got little BGs,

baby gangsters,

they gotta go put in some work,

so they need to make sure

they got their supply.

JUAN: I have a .380.

It's a .380 Beretta.

Holds seven shots.

It's pretty small,

you can carry it anywhere.

If the police sees you

grabbing on to your pants

'cause the gun's heavy,

they'll stop you,

so you just have

a small gun in your pocket,

and it's like

they can't even tell.

NARRATOR: 19-year-old Juan,

against his family's wishes,

has worked for an organized

Hispanic drug gang

called the Nortenos

for the last four years.

I look out for the police.

I look out for other people

trying to come in,

take over the turf.

NARRATOR: He patrols ten blocks

in an East Oakland area

known as the "Killing Fields."

JUAN: If you come into my hood,

we would ask you

where you were from,

what's your name,

who you associate with.

And if we feel like

we couldn't trust you,

we would beat you up,

stab you, shoot you.

You might end up dead

if you don't get out or listen.

To be in this drug gang,

you've got to be very smart.

You gotta know

what you're doing.

NARRATOR: Juan is a spotter

for the Nortenos.

My people,

they move bricks,

several bricks at a time.

NARRATOR: Two warring

Hispanic gangs have a stake

in East Oakland's

Killing Fields.

The Nortenos,

known as "The Northerners,"

are between 2nd Avenue

and High Street.

The Surenos, or Southerners,

operate in an area between

53rd and 58th Street.

We're the soldiers

of Nuestra Familia.

We wear red,

the number 14 for the N,

'cause it's the 14th letter

of the alphabet.

NARRATOR: The Nuestra Familia

is a Hispanic prison gang

who hires the Nortenos

to sell drugs on the street.

Their sign

is the Mexican sombrero with

a machete going through it,

'cause the Mexican mafia

has the sombrero,

and then you're just

slicing it, basically.

(barking)

NARRATOR: Nortenos and Surenos

are sworn enemies.

JUAN: We're just rivals.

We just kill each other.

It's supposed to be on sight.

One of my homeboys,

he was chilling by the tree

right there,

one of the rival members

just came.

He looked like

a normal civilian,

he just walked up

and shot him three times

in the chest,

and he just

hopped back in the car,

and he smashed off.

NARRATOR: Juan is duty-bound

to take revenge.

JUAN: Every time

the murder rate rises,

it comes to more retaliations,

more families involved,

they wanna kill somebody

who did it.

It's gonna go

back and forth forever.

I don't think it's gonna end.

NARRATOR: The gangs

have a chain of command,

and those who disobey

this rule are eliminated.

JUAN: They're just

some little pussies,

some weenies.

They don't get down.

Those are the ones

that are soon to get

taken out the gang.

NARRATOR: Lookouts may be

on the front line

of gang violence,

but they work to protect

the gang's real business,

drug manufacture

and distribution.

EDDIE: Whatever it takes

to get the bigger profit

is what we're gonna do.

We need a space

that we can utilize

that is somewhat discreet,

yet it's gonna give us

enough room to operate,

get this process done.

NARRATOR: Eddie's job

is to find locations

where raw meth from the border

can be converted into crystals

in the heart of the city.

EDDIE: We'll go to hotels,

sometimes we will

get an apartment.

We'll pay off the areas

to the left, to the right,

to the top, to the bottom,

just so that we can

get in there,

make our product, then get out.

NARRATOR: The Nortenos set up

temporary conversion labs

in cheap apartments

and urban motels.

Baby daddy killa!

We're gonna go ahead

and do a perimeter check,

we wanna make sure that

the area that what you're in

is gonna be safe, secure.

We wanna get inside drawers.

Check behind headboards

and stuff like that.

The cobwebs show me

that this thing

hasn't been removed recently,

so we're good here.

NARRATOR: Eddie must check

that the cops

have not planted any bugs

while he waits for the raw meth

to be delivered.

EDDIE: Check for anything

that may record audio or video.

These things here

are sometimes decoys.

This one's already been emptied.

Probably this room's been

used for what it's gonna be

used for again tonight.

Because there will be smoke,

there will be fumes.

NARRATOR: The room is clear,

but there's another problem.

What we need to do

is start getting a hold

of our contact.

NARRATOR: The contact with

the raw meth hasn't shown up.

EDDIE: For some reason,

he's behind schedule,

and we're definitely gonna

need to figure out why.

NARRATOR: Eddie's delivery

of raw meth is one hour late.

I'm starting

to get a little, uh...

Wondering as to

where the other crew's at.

NARRATOR: He gets a text

telling him

to leave immediately.

Eddie's contact

has been pulled over

for a traffic stop.

EDDIE: We've had a situation

where, en route,

he was arrested.

NARRATOR: And the cops

have found all the raw meth.

NARRATOR: Eddie has

shut down his operation

to manufacture meth,

because the delivery

of raw ingredients has been

intercepted by the police.

EDDIE: Normally we take

more than one vehicle,

so that in the event

we lose one,

we don't lose everything.

Unfortunately, everything came

in one vehicle this time,

and we've lost what we needed

to make this product.

NARRATOR: The driver

has broken Norteno rules.

EDDIE: This individual

was definitely in the wrong.

As to what

his consequences will be,

that'll be left up

to a few other gentlemen.

I'm sure they won't be light

with their punishment.

NARRATOR: Even in jail,

there's no escaping

Norteno payback.

EDDIE: If we can't contact him

for discipline

and in the way that we see fit,

then we go to the next of kin.

NARRATOR: The Nortenos

have failed to transport

one shipment of drugs

into Oakland.

And inside the HQ

of the Narcotics Task Force,

a building with

a secret location

so that drug dealers

can't attack it,

Derrick Hesselein

and his undercover team

get wind

of a much bigger delivery.

HESSELEIN:

CRI contacted us this morning,

told us about

an unidentified Hispanic male.

This guy's asking

to get rid of five kilos.

NARRATOR:

A delivery from Mexico

of five kilos

of Cartel cocaine.

HESSELEIN: Our CRI said yes

and contacted us,

and now we're setting it up.

NARRATOR: The team's target

is a house in East Oakland

in the heart

of the Hispanic ganglands.

HESSELEIN: It's a very

dangerous neighborhood.

Everybody knows everybody.

The moment they see us,

they're gonna start

alerting one another

that we're

in the neighborhood

and that we're coming for them.

MAN: When we drove by

earlier this morning,

that place was hot.

NARRATOR: The team must reach

the target's house

before the cocaine

can be sold onto the street.

With such a large shipment,

it's sure to be well-protected.

HESSELEIN: Every single time,

we find somebody who's armed,

so do I believe that there's

firearms inside this house?

Absolutely.

MAN:

Bring all special equipment,

shield, hook, ram cutters...

NARRATOR:

On missions like these,

the team is edgy

and doesn't take any chances.

HESSELEIN: ...flashbangs,

everything we got.

'Cause there's a lot of unknown.

NARRATOR: And there's

even a bigger problem.

Soon the cops' most

important advantage

will be gone.

This city becomes

a completely different city

when the sun goes down.

It doesn't get any worse.

NARRATOR: In only half an hour,

it will be night

and even elite cops worry

about going into

the Killing Fields after dark.

HESSELEIN:

I prefer to get this done

while we still have sunlight.

It just gets more and more

difficult to see,

and it's much easier

for lookouts

to conceal themselves

and take a shot at us.

I'm not willing to sacrifice

anybody on this team's life

just so we can throw

some dope on the table.

You know, you live

to fight another day.

NARRATOR: The team does have

one thing on its side.

Derrick's lucky charm.

HESSELEIN: The boots may look

a little out of place,

but one day

I dressed up quickly,

and I left 'em on,

and we ended up getting

22 pounds of methamphetamine.

So now

it's sort of a superstition,

I'm afraid to not wear them.

Last time I went

to take 'em off,

all these guys freaked.

NARRATOR: The team boards

its Ballistic Armored Tactical

Transport vehicle,

known as the BATT.

Turn left here.

NARRATOR: One mile out

from the target,

Derrick pulls the BATT over.

Why don't we

just block the street?

NARRATOR: He needs more intel

on who's inside the house.

If it's too well-defended,

Derrick will call off the raid.

The team waits in a parking lot

while he sends in

an unmarked police car

to take a look at the house.

HESSELEIN: We need to know

the total amount of people.

See anything else,

anything of danger?

I just saw an HMA come out

and get into that vehicle

in the driver's seat

Set up 8 vibe international.

NARRATOR:

The cops need to find out

who's leaving the house

and why.

Lights are on

HESSELEIN:

Vehicle's getting ready to go.

1,600.

They may take the dope.

NARRATOR: If the cocaine

leaves the house,

the cops' raid

will be a failure.

HESSELEIN: It's away,

and I can't go with it.

Okay, they're out,

they're making the left turn.

Can you get a patrol car ASAP?

NARRATOR: Derrick calls in

a marked police car

to pull over

the departing vehicle.

HESSELEIN: Just make it

an easy traffic stop.

Like they lit 'em up

for something.

NARRATOR:

The patrol unit has to act

like this is just

a routine traffic stop.

Don't light it up yet.

We're gonna let it go

a little ways away.

NARRATOR: But it must wait

until it's far enough away

from the house

so the house occupants

don't figure out

they're being watched.

Vehicle's at 8-1 and Olive,

advise when you have it.

HESSELEIN: 8-1 and Olive,

low-key it if they can.

OFFICER: 8-2 and Birch.

Stop 'em,

they're right there!

They got it

NARRATOR:

The patrol car lights up

the departing vehicle.

Detain the driver immediately

Watch for cell phone use.

NARRATOR: The driver tells

the patrol cops

the cocaine

is still hidden in the house.

As soon as you go in

through the front door

there's going to be three doors

on the right hand side

there's going to be rooms

Where was the dope at?

The dope is in the bedroom

NARRATOR:

And who's protecting it?

**** says five HMAs

Uh-oh.

NARRATOR: Five men is still

a big crew to take down.

I want everybody outfitted

from head to toe,

then we'll move.

NARRATOR: The raid is on

to seize the cocaine

before it hits the street.

We're not gonna have time

to (bleep) around with this.

Everybody ready to go?

Right, let's go.

Load up.

NARRATOR: Derrick's breaking

his golden rule.

He's entering Oakland's

baddest hood at night.

Okay, Barnes, let's go.

NARRATOR: The BATT accelerates

through East Oakland's

Killing Fields...

OFFICER: Right turn!

Hang on, hang on!

NARRATOR: ...and onto

the target block.

Should be the third house

on the left-hand side.

OFFICER 1: A-game. A-game.

OFFICER 2: Offload,

offload, offload.

NARRATOR: Three detectives go

to the right of the property.

HESSELEIN: We need the gate,

we need the gate!

NARRATOR: And after the 20-ton

BATT flattens the fence,

another team advances to

the front door of the house...

(bang)

...using flashbangs

to stun the gang members.

Police!

OFFICER 1: On the ground,

on the ground! Now!

OFFICER 2: On the floor!

Move, move, move!

Freeze, don't move!

NARRATOR: Inside, they clear

one room at a time

to search for the drug dealers.

(bang)

OFFICER: Police!

NARRATOR:

Derrick enters the bathroom

and sees something move.

(yelling)

OFFICER: Don't move!

NARRATOR: A gang member

trying to hide.

HESSELEIN: I got one

in the bathroom.

Both your hands at the back!

Don't move!

Blue coming out.

Coming out with one,

coming out with one.

Is there a unit out front

to take a prisoner?

NARRATOR:

And once the prisoners

are brought out,

the team starts

to look for drugs.

Inside, a shrine to Saint Jude,

a patron saint

favored by drug dealers,

is a good omen.

HESSELEIN: Whoa, whoa,

whoa, whoa, hey, Arnie,

did you just say something?

You're gonna like this

NARRATOR: In the outhouse,

they find

a marijuana drying room...

with hundreds of young plants.

HESSELEIN: Good job, guys.

NARRATOR: And then,

the discovery they hoped for.

Four kilos,

still in their

plastic wrapping.

OFFICER: Test for

the presence of cocaine.

NARRATOR: It tests positive

for cocaine.

Derrick's lucky boots

have come through again.

HESSELEIN: I'm really happy.

It's the culmination

of a long investigation.

Everybody's safe,

and we took four kilos

of cocaine off the streets.

NARRATOR: The team has

cut off a supply route,

and six cartel members

are under arrest.

Tonight in Oakland's drug war,

the cops' enemy

has been dealt a blow,

but he is never defeated.

Captioned by Point.360