Can he really make drugs invisible?
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1305
By Matt Davis
Statues of Jesús Malverde are selling like hotcakes in East Portland—as well as aerosols, trading cards, and candles emblazoned with his picture. Dressed in his distinctive white suit, with a prominent moustache, he’s either the patron saint of narcotics, or the Mexican Robin Hood… depending on whom you’re talking to, and why you’re asking. Some people even believe having one of these statues close by makes their stash of drugs invisible—which is just fine, if you happen to be a cop.
Accounts of Malverde’s life differ, but his association with law enforcement goes back to when the Mexican State Police shot him in 1909. There is general agreement he was a railway or construction worker who turned into a bandit and was later shot—or possibly hung—by the Federales, in the Sinaloa state of northern Mexico. But that’s where the consensus ends.
In modern-day Portland, East Precinct Block Captain Coordinator Dave Smith has noticed a connection between statues of this “saint” and local drug dealers. Smith also has his own take on the Malverde mythos.
“Drug dealers believe that by building a shrine to Malverde, they can protect themselves from detection by the police,” Smith said, citing findings from the precinct’s Crime Reduction Unit (CRU). According to CRU reports, the statues are often found alongside drugs, guns, and ill-gotten money.
CRU officers say these shrines to Malverde have been increasingly noticed on drug “knock-and-talks”—wherein cops will drop by the homes of suspects, based on information derived from people buying drugs, and ask to be invited in for a “look around.” A Malverde statue in the home of an already suspected drug dealer is considered a red flag to officers, indicating illegal substances may be on the premises.”We look for indicators of criminal activity,” CRU Officer Rob Jackson told the Mercury, on a night-shift ride-along of East Precinct. “And if we’re at a location where we have reason to believe there are drugs, and we see a Malverde statue, then there’s a correlation between finding that statue and finding what we’re looking for.”
Of course, if you’re a drug dealer, and happen to believe that a Malverde statue might make your drugs invisible to the police, you’re probably more likely to give consent to a “knock-and-talk” look around of your house. But judging from the CRU’s success in finding drugs recently, Malverde’s mythical powers aren’t working so well.
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=276901&category=34029