The Written Operational PlanAn operational plan is an important document created by the case agent that should be approved by a supervisor prior to distributing it to the other agents who will be participating in the operation. It should contain general information about what the objectives of the operation are, who the suspects are, their descriptions, home addresses, and what assignments each participant will have. The areas that should be addressed in any approved, written operational plan include (Figure 7.1 to Figure 7.6): Date, time, and place of the operation. The objective of the operation (e.g., arrest, purchase, money flash, meeting, etc.). Brief synopsis on what has led to this undercover meeting. Specific personnel involved in surveillance, and what their particular assignments are. If counter-surveillance is expected or anticipated. If the suspect is expected to be armed. Estimated duration of the meeting or operation with an established cut-off time. Whether the undercover agent has been approved to or prohibited from traveling with the suspect or to a second location. The anticipated actions of the informant. If body transmitters will be used, and who will be responsible for recording the undercover conversation. Listing of known vehicles associated with the suspect along with their addresses and physical descriptions. Known associates of the suspect that may appear on the scene unexpectedly. Distress signals, both audible and visual. Photos of suspect. Photocopies of maps showing the exact location of the undercover meeting. The cellular telephone and pager numbers of the undercover agent. Radio call signs, telephone numbers, and pager numbers for all surveillance agents. The location and telephone numbers for the local police, as well as police agencies with jurisdiction where the undercover meeting will take place. The nearest hospital emergency room.Some operational plans have more information, but too much information may detract from information deemed essential and make it hard to find important information quickly. Many plans are preprinted with check marks next to the names of those agents who will be participating. In any event, a supervisor should thoroughly review the plan and discuss it with both the case and undercover agents. The supervisor should make it clear whether or not the undercover agent is authorized to deviate from the approved operational plan, and any consequences for doing so.Before approving the undercover agent to travel to a secondary meeting location, the location should be known, and surveillance agents already in place to look for other persons associated with the suspect. The location of an undercover meeting should never be approved that gives the suspect a tactical advantage.An undercover agents unilateral decision to deviate from the approved investigative plan can cause serious problems. If the suspect wants the undercover agent to travel with, or follow him to a secondary location, the agent should refuse to do so unless it was approved beforehand by a supervisor and discussed during the operational briefing. If the undercover agent leaves with the suspect without the knowledge of the surveillance team, they will naturally think the agent is under duress and view it as a possible kidnapping or robbery attempt and would be expected to take action to rescue the agent.It is unwise, for several reasons, to furnish government money to a suspect on his promise to return later with drugs. The suspect could change his mind and keep the money without fear of retribution from the undercover agent or the police since in his mind he is dealing with another drug dealer. Even if the trafficker sincerely intends to return with the drugs, he may be robbed of the money before he can obtain them. Fearing retribution from the undercover agent, he may flee. Either way, only under extraordinary circumstances in a tightly controlled environment should undercover agents or their supervisors allow money to be advanced to dealers.The undercover agent should ask but not insist on seeing the drugs to be purchased before any money is displayed. Once the location of the drugs is revealed the arrest can be made without ever jeopardizing the loss of official government funds.Undercover agents should avoid accompanying the suspect in his vehicle since control cannot be exercised over the moving vehicle. The suspect could drive the car into an area where surveillance agents would immediately be detected, or he could drive to a deserted location where accomplices are waiting to rob the undercover agent. Allowing the suspect to travel in the undercover vehicle is preferable, but only if the agent is driving, knows ahead of time where he is going, reasonably believes the suspect is unarmed, and adequate surveillance agents are available to follow.If the operational plan forbids the undercover agent from traveling anywhere with the suspect, regardless in what vehicle, and this occurs, the surveillance team must assume the agent is being kidnapped for the purpose of robbing him or her. Even if the surveillance team is electronically monitoring the conversation between the undercover agent and suspect, and distress does not seem obvious, the surveillance team must still assume the worst and be ready to rescue the agent. If the undercover agent is under distress and can communicate with the surveillance team through a wireless transmitter, he should attempt to alert them as soon as possible to what is happening. For example, the undercover agent can simply state, Why are you pointing that gun on me? or Dont shoot me! as obvious signs of distress. Under these circumstances, the undercover agent should immediately identify him or herself as a law enforcement officer and tell the suspect other agents are following them. Drug dealers are less likely to kill or injure a law enforcement officer than an informant or other drug dealer.The Operational BriefingThe case agent should conduct an operational briefing immediately after the approved operational plan has been distributed to each agent or officer participating in the operation. The informant and case agent should be personally introduced to the surveillance team members to insure they are not mistaken to be the suspects.If possible, an undercover agent should always be equipped with a cellular telephone in order for him or her to have instant communication with the case agent and supervisor. This also allows the case agent to inform or warn the undercover agent, during the actual operation, things that the surveillance team has detected. Cellular telephone communication with the undercover agent also allows supervisors to direct the undercover agent to discretely shut the operation down if they deem it necessary.Undercover operational plans and briefings cannot be taken lightly since the agent or informant will potentially be exposed to extreme danger. Everyone associated with the operation must be thoroughly briefed on the plan and know who the participants are. Supervisors should approve all such plans, as well as the concept of the operation. There must be an adequate amount of surveillance agents to cover the meeting, and they must be trained and equipped to handle any eventuality.The Undercover MeetingUndercover agents, meeting a drug trafficker for the first time, will naturally feel uneasy and nervous. Not only is he nervous about being away from his fellow officers in the presence of the unsuspecting drug dealer, he will feel pressure knowing his performance will be judged by his peers. This should not matter, but it is a natural occurrence. The objective of meeting undercover with a drug trafficker is to gather evidence and build a prosecutable case against the suspect. Even though the undercover agent may appear anxious and nervous, the drug trafficker will probably mirror the same anxiety and nervousness.When an informant is involved in an undercover meeting with a suspect, he will be the key to the success of the operation. If the suspect believes the informant when he says the undercover agent is a genuine drug dealer, then he will most likely deal with the agent. If the informant does not have a great deal of credibility with the suspect, he may never lose his suspicion that the agent is a law enforcement officer.Formal meetings with suspects should be in public, especially the initial meeting. During this first meeting, the undercover agent will get a feel for the suspect, and begin to learn about his personality. The agent should attempt to establish a rapport with the suspect as soon as it is practical. They should not jump into to talking about drugs within a short time of meeting the suspect. The agent should let the trafficker bring up the topic of drugs first, if possible. If not, when the appropriate time arrives, the informant can take the lead by mentioning the topic.Undercover meetings can be held in restaurants, hotel lobbies, parking lots, restaurants, and bars. Hotel rooms should only be used when the undercover agent wants the suspect to feel comfortable enough to go into detail about his drug trafficking operations. The suspect often suggests a hotel room when large amounts of money and drugs are going to be exchanged. However, because hotel rooms are secluded and confining, they pose a significant amount of danger for the undercover agent. Because of their seclusion, drug traffickers may be more inclined to rob the undercover agent. Robbery is something the undercover agent must always be conscious of when negotiating with the drug trafficker. Undercover agents must constantly ask themselves why the suspect insists the drug transaction be conducted a certain way or at a particular location.Suspects are highly suspicious of new people they are introduced to. Undercover agents should remember the suspect is always looking for a reason not to do a drug deal with them. Because of their suspicions, they may withdraw their offer to sell drugs and never contact the agent or informant again.Many lower-level drug dealers routinely abuse the drugs they sell, creating paranoia. Some are extremely paranoid of being arrested, and will take extraordinary means to detect police informants and undercover agents. Some paranoid drug dealers are convinced the government is tapping their phones, and that they are under constant observation by satellites, none of which is true.One way to make the trafficker feel comfortable is by not asking too many questions. Traffickers believe that the more questions asked, the more likely the person he is dealing with is associated with the police. By not asking a lot of questions, credibility rapidly builds up in the eyes of the trafficker who may feel comfortable enough to boast about his drug trafficking successes. Undercover agents can never ask too few questions.The undercover agent should not volunteer any personal information from his or her cover story, and only answer those questions that have the appearance of being harmless. Undercover agents, as well as their informants should be attentive as well as be a good listener. Everything he says and does may later help in identifying other members of his organization.Undercover NegotiationsThe objective of the undercover agent is to successfully negotiate the price and delivery of drugs to him or her without having to display money first. If during negotiations the suspect insists on seeing money before bringing out drugs, this can be done safely, under controlled circumstances, but should be avoided if at all possible. (See Chapter 8 for details.)As mentioned earlier, during actual negotiations, the undercover agent should always keep robbery in mind. The agent should never agree to meet in an area where he or she is known or where the suspect frequents.Undercover agents should have at least three specific locations in mind that have been prescreened by a supervisor as being acceptable for a drug operation. If the first location mentioned by the undercover agent is unacceptable, he or she will have two or three others as alternatives.The agent should never allow the trafficker to talk him or her into doing something inherently dangerous. Some undercover agents are so determined to be successful in their negotiations they will sacrifice their personal safety to increase the chances of the suspect delivering drugs to them. They have found themselves caught up in with the gotta go syndrome in that no matter what, the deal has got to go. To counter this, supervisors should review all audiotapes of the negotiations between the agent, informant, and suspect to insure the agreed upon terms provides safety for the undercover agent and surveillance team.During undercover negotiations, surveillance and arrest teams must be kept in mind. Where the agent parks his vehicle, where he sits in a restaurant, and where he stands in the lobby of a hotel is important, and can raise security concerns if surveillance teams are unable to constantly observe him or her.The undercover agent should be thoroughly familiar with the use of modern mobile telephones, pagers, and other communication devices. Codes can be used on pagers to designate certain events and to pass on information that will not be obvious to the suspect during the negotiations. Supervisors can send a simple page of 1022 to order the undercover agent to end the undercover meeting soon.Prebuy and postbuy surveillance should be established during the actual transaction to look for counter-surveillance accomplices, sources of supply, and where the drugs may be hidden.The undercover agent should strictly stick to self-imposed time limitations during meetings with the suspect. Surveillance agents will naturally become curious why the meeting that was supposed to last for 30 minutes is dragging on for over an hour. Further, the longer the undercover agent is exposed to the suspect, the greater the likelihood he or she may say something that will be contradictory to what he or she earlier said, raising the suspicions of the suspect.