While this episode of "Dragnet" doesn't have wonderful one-liners from Joe Friday nor does it have memorably goofy characters, I really like it because it shows how good police work can nab a whole gang of criminals--starting at the bottom of the chain and working your way up to the top man.
"The Big Shipment" begins at the end of Friday and Gannon's shift. After a long and unsuccessful stakeout, a break occurs when a small plane crashes. Oddly, the pilot runs off--leading the police to wonder if perhaps this was being flown by a drug courier. And, upon investigating they find it is filled with marijuana and heroin. So, the first order of business is tracking down the pilot. This consists of following a few dead leads and lots of knocking on doors...at 1:45am! Eventually, they catch the guy...who, in turn leads them to his contacts. Eventually, the detectives are able to catch these two crooks as well. Oddly, one pretends to be deaf--though Friday quickly sees through the ruse. And, when they break, the path leads right to Mr. Big.
This is just a great example of determined police work and what it often takes to crack a case. Nothing all that dramatic or amazing...just lots of legwork.
"The Big Shipment" begins at the end of Friday and Gannon's shift. After a long and unsuccessful stakeout, a break occurs when a small plane crashes. Oddly, the pilot runs off--leading the police to wonder if perhaps this was being flown by a drug courier. And, upon investigating they find it is filled with marijuana and heroin. So, the first order of business is tracking down the pilot. This consists of following a few dead leads and lots of knocking on doors...at 1:45am! Eventually, they catch the guy...who, in turn leads them to his contacts. Eventually, the detectives are able to catch these two crooks as well. Oddly, one pretends to be deaf--though Friday quickly sees through the ruse. And, when they break, the path leads right to Mr. Big.
This is just a great example of determined police work and what it often takes to crack a case. Nothing all that dramatic or amazing...just lots of legwork.