Chicago drug bust. So what?

The "most significant drug importation conspiracies ever charged in Chicago" says the US Attorney.

Federal authorities have disrupted a massive cocaine operation that was bringing 1,500 to 2,000 kilos of cocaine a month to Chicago from the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico, in what law enforcement is calling the most significant drug conspiracy ever to be broken up in Chicago.

Thirty-six people in Chicago and Mexico were indicted.
...
Authorities, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, are seeking to seize $1.8 billion in cash.

The whole story by Natasha Korecki in the Chicago Sun Times.

And so what? This will result in: 1) More money spend on prison (and yes, I see how this is not a good example of my general position on immigrants), 2) more violence (and police death) in Mexico, and 3) somebody else bringing in the drugs to supply the heroin and cocaine needs of Chicago and the Midwest.

Notice how there isn't even talk about this 1) will make our streets safer, 2) lower drug use, or 3) increase the street prices for the drugs. The last point is downright bizarre, because no drug bust ever seems to increase price (except in the very shortest of terms). Even I can see how if you disrupt a major supplier, supply should go down, and prices up. But that never needs to be the case.

[from Peter Moskos's Cop in the Hood]