Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Today marks a decade since the FBI led a major drug bust in South Los Angeles known as Operation Fly Trap. The task force was set up to root out crime in a neighborhood plagued by rampant gang violence.
They targeted a couple dozen members of a local drug network and systematically took them down. The operation was hailed as a huge success for law enforcement, but over the last decade, the real legacy of Operation Fly Trap has become less clear.
Author Susan Phillips looks into the unintended consequences of this approach to the war on drugs in her book, "Operation Fly Trap: LA Gangs, Drugs and the Law."