Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/05/stolen_ipad_crystal_meth/
Stolen iPad leads to 780lb crystal meth seizure
Hoods with $35m in drugs can't afford fondleslab?
Posted in Security, 5th March 2012 23:23 GMT
Silicon Valley police tracking down a stolen iPad have made a massive drug bust resulting from rank stupidity by the thieves.
The Palo Alto policemen were tracking down a stolen iPad, using its GPS-based "Find My iPad" feature to determine its location. After tracing the filched fondleslab to an apartment building, they knocked on the door and asked to be let in, even though they didn't have a warrant. Rather surprisingly, the occupants agreed.
"They probably thought if they didn't, we'd suspect something," Assistant District Attorney David Tomkins told The San Jose Mercury News. "Or they thought, 'I'll let them in – they probably won't find anything.'"
However the police did find something – 780 pounds of crystal meth worth an estimated $35m, to be precise – scattered around the apartment building. District Attorney Jeff Rosen said that local police typically seize about 100 pounds of crystal meth every year, making this one of the biggest busts in their history.
"I told my dad about the bust," said Rosen, "and he said, 'They have $35 million, and they can't go out and buy an iPad?'"
Three people, who were presumably high on their own supply when they invited the police in, have since been arrested. ®