Brooklyn rapper Neno Best was selling guns out of his Ocean Hill recording studio and inadvertently brought down an entire gun trafficking ring using nothing but his Instagram.
Following an exhaustive undercover investigation, New York City police confiscated 254 illegal guns -- 36 of which were reported stolen -- and made 19 arrests in connection with an interstate gun ring. Mayor Bloomberg praised the bust, saying, "There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives."
The arrests would not have been made, however, without the help of of Neno Best's Instagram account, which has since been deleted. The rapper, whose real name is Matthew Best, allegedly boasted about his status as a gun dealer by posting pictures of guns and bundles of cash. Police discovered the photos while investigating an unrelated narcotics ring, and it led to a months-long undercover investigation.
The source of the guns, police uncovered, was Brooklyn gun broker, Adeji Omole. Omole was buying guns from two men, Walter Walker and Earl Campbell, who were allegedly running gun operations in North and South Carolina.
From the New York Daily News:
Campbell, 23, is accused of selling 90 guns, including two assault rifles, for nearly $75,000, during 24 meetings with the undercover officer beginning in October.
Walter Walker, 29, of Sanford, N.C., is accused of selling 116 guns, including five assault weapons and a machine gun, for $82,000 during 19 meetings with the undercover detective over 10 months beginning last September.
Bumbling criminals getting busted after bragging about their crimes is sadly nothing new. There was the murderer convicted because of a tattoo commemorating his crime, the mugger who posted 2 Chainz' credit card and driver's license on Instagram, and the other rapper who got arrested for murder after describing a shooting in a terrible song.
Neno Best -- who has two five-star mixtapes at DatPiff -- not only got himself busted, though. He also got two major Southern drug runners and 16 accomplices arrested. This may be the first time an inept criminal saved lives. His stupidity and hubris took 250+ illegal weapons off the streets of Brooklyn. The man may have set out to be a criminal, but he's an accidental hero. I say his community service is complete.
Read the full story at the New York Daily News
