Undercover Agent Nick

     Take a glimpse around your
town and you will find uniformed officers working hard to keep the community peaceful. Not all
officers are in uniform, though - some may be disguised as your neighbor. Nick, a former undercover
narcotics agent, provides an intriguing look into this type of work where incognito is the name of
the game.

When did you get involved in this line of
work?

I was 19 years old when I started as an undercover agent at the
police department. I was hired as a police specialist in the narcotics
unit.


What sparked your interest in the field, and how did you
get started?

I had worked in a factory during high school with two
men, one of whom was reported missing. It turned out that he was an undercover agent. As I spoke
with the other one (who later became a police officer), he noticed my interest in undercover work.
When he needed someone to make an undercover drug buy, he remembered my interest and contacted me. I
was a drug-free kid and had no experience with anything of that nature, but I made the buy and was
able to help the officer make a case against somebody. Later, I was contacted by the narcotics squad
and offered a position. I accepted, though it wasn‘t official until they did a background
check.


How did you prepare for your new
job?

I took a training course on the illicit drugs that are common out
on the street. I was also given an expense account. I recall asking, “How do I
doit?” and was told, “You become
an actor. ”


What was it like in the
beginning?

I started going to bars in the city to hang out and make my
face known to everyone. It took months to learn the drug activity in
the city.


What was it like having a second
identity?

I had to completely change my style of dress and let my
hair grow long. I went from being a neat, nice kid to looking like a drug addict. People would ask
what had happened to me but, of course, I could not tell the truth. Only my parents knew what I was
doing. In fact, my identity was so secure that all my paychecks were routed through another city
department as a ghost employee. Furthermore, the other narcotics officers only knew me as a drug
addict at the bars. Nobody knew who I was.


How did you get the
people in the drug community to “buy” this persona?


I tried to be the craziest person in the group. I would even plan gas
station hold-ups to make the people I was with believe in my
“criminal abilities. ” I had props and drug paraphernalia to make it appear as
though I really were a drug user. I never did drugs with them, but I learned how to fake
it.


What kind of people did
you encounter?

The people I met came from all walks of life. I remember
a wife and husband team, and hippies.


What kind of evidence
did you collect?

I had to purchase all kinds of illegal drugs and even
stolen pharmaceuticals.


What would you do with the evidence
and other results of your work?

Every time I bought drugs, I would
lock them in a safe and write a report. Every few days I would meet with my commander in a secluded
area, never in the same place, to turn over the evidence.


What
was the hardest part of your job?

The hardest parts were
probably gaining the trust of the people, learning the identities of the drug dealers whom I would
make cases against, the pressure to perform, the stress of never knowing who would discover my
identity, or if I would come back. Also, after being with these people for a while, we became friends
and it hurt to have to lie and deceive them to make cases
on them.


How long did you work undercover?


Two years.


Why did you stop?


Fifty to 60 dealers had sold to me multiple times during those two
years, and they had decided to include me in trips out of town to smuggle drugs back in.
The narcotics unit agreed that they did not want me working outside the city and decided it was time
to end the investigation. All subjects were indicted secretly and arrested during one weekend
drug raid.


What was the most rewarding part of your
work?

I had completely infiltrated the drug community of that
city. After they were all convicted and completed their jail sentences, I would later bump into some
of them. They actually thanked me because it was a wake-up call for them. They said that they
probably would not have changed their ways if I had not reported
them.


How did it feel to go back to normal
life?

It was nice to be able to explain to all my relatives that I had
not really gone downhill after all, only undercover.


Why do
you feel this line of work is so beneficial to society?

As rotten as
it was to lie to the people I met, undercover work is so important because it is one way to
combat the drug problem.