Hard Times

Radley Balko | September 18, 2008

Even the drug dealers are feeling it:

Spiraling gas prices led an Indiana drug dealer to levy a fuel oil surcharge on customers purchasing cocaine, according to investigators. Anthony Salinas, 18, tacked on the gasoline surcharge when he sold a confidential police source coke on two occasions in June. While arranging one buy, Salinas told the source that a quarter-ounce of cocaine would cost $240--$215 for the drug itself and "$25.00 for gas money to deliver the cocaine," according to the court affidavit...

Comments

Ska|9.18.08 @ 2:40PM|#

The amount seems a bit high, but if the pizza or chinese delivery guys do it, why not the coke dealers?

Shipping has always been an easy profit center anyway.

|9.18.08 @ 2:49PM|#

I better not get hit with one of these.

|9.18.08 @ 3:06PM|#

This is retarded. I've never been given a receipt for drugs, much less an itemized one. What, does this guy charge a nickel extra for the baggy? Retarded!

Abdul|9.18.08 @ 3:21PM|#

New strategy for drug war: higher gas taxes.

Seitz|9.18.08 @ 3:29PM|#

This is retarded. I've never been given a receipt for drugs, much less an itemized one. What, does this guy charge a nickel extra for the baggy? Retarded!

It's for sales tax purposes. If you don't separately state the taxable and non-taxable items, the whole transaction is taxable!

|9.18.08 @ 3:47PM|#

This is retarded.

Yeah well. Of all the people selling cocaine that day, this was the guy selling to a cop.

|9.18.08 @ 3:50PM|#

LOL, Hey, its only business! Gotta cover the expenses. Its only good business sense.

JIff
www.anonymize.us.tc

Warty|9.18.08 @ 4:38PM|#

LOL if only he'd anonymized himself LOL

|9.18.08 @ 5:00PM|#

Pimpin' Dealin' is hard!

SIV|9.18.08 @ 6:26PM|#

You can get decent cocaine for $215 a quarter oz these days? That was a really good price back in the late 80s--and I was in Florida then.
I wouldn't know about now because I don't like the stuff.

name changed to protect the gu|9.18.08 @ 7:45PM|#

You can get decent cocaine for $215 a quarter oz these days?

Have seen prices from $110 to $150 for a ball on the west coast recently so it looks like a reasonable price two balls.

I wouldn't know about now because I don't like the stuff.

Uh-huh... sure. What else would you like us to believe? That you hate getting laid too?

|9.18.08 @ 8:41PM|#

Bad idea - hard enough to fight the property seizure vultures without explicitly admitting you use your car to deal drugs.

|9.19.08 @ 12:31AM|#

Bitching about gas prices while buying cocaine at Starbucks? Cheapskate cops. Just pay the man.

Its funny they were doing this at Starbucks because I've also bought coffeee at Starbucks. And the grocery store. And Carribou. And the bar, the park, a steakhouse, the mall, sporting goods store, the bank, McD's, the health club. Shit, I've bought a lot of coffee!