Cop school: Cracking down on drug dealers

The illegal drug trade is “huge” in the county, he says,
noting at least $1.5 million is seized every year in drug arrests and related crimes,
like prostitution. One bust not too long ago yielded $10 million.

Monaghan, who’s been in the Fairfax County police force for
23 years, focuses on long-term investigations involving drugs, gambling, and
prostitution.

Mount Vernon had been the top spot for open-air drug
markets, although there aren’t as many as there used to be, as most drug
dealing has moved indoors. You’re more likely find the bigger deals where the
most money is, like McLean and Centreville, Monaghan says. He did confirm that
some of the “mom and pop” businesses in Annandale might well be used for
laundering drug money, and that some of the massage parlors are likely fronts for prostitution.

The possibility of making some easy money is what’s driving
people to drug dealing, as well as the need for money to support their addictions. “You can easily make thousands of dollars in five minutes of work,”
he says. Drug dealing drugs is way more lucrative than robbery, he says.

Synthetic marijuana, sometimes called “spice,” is an
increasing problem in Fairfax County, says Monaghan, who noted a grocery store
has recently been busted for selling it. Another growing problem among youths
is the misuse of prescription pills, often taken from adults’ medicine
cabinets.

According to Monaghan the price of marijuana is
way up from a generation ago. A pound of weed now goes for $5,000 a pound,
compared to about $500 in the 1980s and is a lot more potent—and that is leading
to more robberies and other violent crimes.

Monaghan opposes the legalization of marijuana because while
“it’s true that not everyone who smokes
pot becomes a heroin addict, every heroin addict started with marijuana.” There
will always be a black market for the stuff, as there is in California where it
is legal for medicinal purposes, he says, and drug dealing is often connected
to violent crimes.

There aren’t that many meth labs in Fairfax County as there
are in other parts of the country, and for that, Monaghan credits a state law
that requires an ID to buy medications like Sudafed that are used in producing
methamphetamine.

Most homicides in Fairfax County are either related to drugs
or domestic situations, he says. When it comes to organized crime, he has seen
some Mafia-related gambling going on in Fairfax County, but most of the drug
trade is controlled by street gangs.

Monaghan and his colleagues often rely on informants in
busting dealers. People become informants for three reasons, he says: They want
to be paid, they have been or fear being arrested and want their charges
reduced, or they are out for revenge.

“That crap about not snitching on TV shows is not true.
Everybody tells on everybody,” he says. Often an ex-girlfriend calls the cops
after a fight with a drug-dealing boyfriend. But then, if they make up, she
might change her story.

He tells informants he can’t promise anything; it’s up to
the prosecutors and judges if they want to cut a deal.

Working undercover with drug dealers can get a narc into a
lot of nerve-wracking situations, like staying in character when you have a
fake identity, coming up with excuses for not getting high when making a buy,
and talking your way out of getting shot.

Most drugs confiscated by the police are destroyed, although
a small amount is saved for training the canine corps and for helping narcs fit
in while working undercover.