D.C Police 1986
The Oregano Scam
In 1981 the District of Columbia broke their own record, 86 citizens dead from overdoses due to heroin. To combat the growing opium problem in the city, police launched a all out offensive on the cities drug market.
In less than 30 days, the D.C police made mayhem of the city making more than 600 drug arrests. The new anything goes task force had a green light to disrupt all drug trade throughout D.C.
‘Rick and Jamie’ of the D.C 4th district vice unit, 1988
One of the cop’s ideas to disrupt marijuana sales had no intentions of even arresting people at all. ‘Operation Oregano’ aimed to sell fake weed to unsuspecting customers in the most popular area for sales in town. Their idea was to give the area a ‘bad name’ for selling fake weed driving the customers away…
In September 1981, undercover police took over the area around 15th and Chapin Streets NW, and sold sacks of Oregano to unsuspecting customers hoping to score some herb. Trying to give Chapin street a bad name, the undercover officers set up shop on the corner selling the fake weed for days on end soliciting hundreds of fake oregano sacks for cash, while making no arrests…
The operation did little to combat the opium crisis raging outside precinct doors…
“It discourages people from coming to the area… We have some pretty ingenious officers who come up with stuff. I support them as long as what they do is not illegal.”
– D.C. Police Chief Maurice T. Turner, 1981 on ‘operation oregano’
Oregano sacks sold by the D.C. Police under operation “Oregano Scam” or “Operation Astroturf” on Chapin street in 1981
History repeats itself in 2010, when D.C. Police again used oregano in one of their schemes…
Busting a local cannabis delivery service called ‘Mindy’s Muffins’ they again decided to set up shop selling fake weed. Answering the ringing phones of Mindy’s Muffins, the Police set up weed deliveries again using their special oregano sacks…
In their scheming they were able to arrest 20 people trying to buy the cops special oregano sacks. Only problem for the cops is that oregano isn’t illegal, the judge was not amused and later all 20 cases were dropped by the Prosecutors!
Washington D.C. 4th District Vice Unit “choir practice”