The War on the Drug Barons

On one side, there's the whole force of the police, and the might of Twilight Cities best and brightest. On the other, a couple of thugs in suits. Strange that the Drug Barons keep winning, then, right? S'like David and Goliath... well, it would be, if David had been a homicidal, chemical-fuelled bully, backhanding payouts.

— Jackson R. Verducci, Twilight Ranger

There is a constant war going on in Twilight City. It's fought out of site, on dark street corners after dusk, in dens full of dirty mattresses and used needles, in night clubs bright with neon and dark with despair. It's a war on sanity and the mundane, a war on the daily grind of being... and a war on drugs.
The biggest issue in this war on drugs is information. The police do not know where the drug barons are exactly, because they change their locations. And the drug barons have enough corrupt officers on their payroll that they seem to be several steps ahead of any concrete initiative to wipe them out.
Some say the corruption goes all the way to the top. But that just seems crazy. Right? Why would the guy signing my paychecks get in bed with the Drug Barons, after all? |Jackson R. Verducci, Twilight Ranger

Smuggling

Despite numerous check points, drugs are still finding their way into Twilight City. Some point fingers at the Twilight Rangers, the arm of the police force that patrols the Twilight Badlands . Others point to corrupt farmers in the badlands, shipping drugs in with cart loads of tomatoes and potatoes.

Drug Patrols

Because of the intensity of the war on drugs, the Police have instigated a search protocol (usually including the K9 robot, latest in air-particle analysis) for all likely locations without the need for a warrant. The biggest issue with this, though, is that the drugs are easily flushed down a toilet or otherwise hidden, so proving more than background residual presence can be tricky.
In step the Snouts (slang), an undercover branch of the police designed to root out drug operations so uniformed officers can go in and make arrests. The slang originated from truffle hunting pigs (a common archaic slang for police officers).

In the Badlands

In the Twilight Badlands, rangers have instructions to torch drug crop fields on sight, without waiting for confirmation or backup. More than one farmer has lost a field of crops due to a young, spark-happy ranger unable to tell rocket from drugs. Rangers who follow this protocol too successful often disappear without a trace.

Hooks:

There's a rumour that hospitals have turned to the Drug Barons to get the latest in pharmaceutical, as megacorporations fail to keep up with the latest advances in pain management.

A new drug is hitting the streets, and it's causing chaos.

Leaked photos of a politician taking drugs have been handed your party's way. Your job is to determine if they're genuine - is this guy mixed up in something shady?