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<p>It started around 8 p.m. Thursday with an unexpected Facebook post by the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department:</p><p>&#8220;Anyone in Wilkes-Barre know where we could buy any drugs? (Asking for a friend) Hit us up at (570) 760-0215 #NotACop.&#8221;</p><p>By Friday evening, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WBTPD/" target="_blank">posting</a> and periodic jesting replies by the police department had more than 17,200 shares and 2,600 comments from viewers across the country. The post had generated more than 1.4 million views, an officer said.</p><p>Township police came up with the online approach on their own to draw attention to the tip line, according to the officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying his undercover drug investigations could be compromised if his identity is disclosed. His boss in the special investigations unit could not be reached for comment Friday.</p><p>&#8220;Humor engages people much more,&#8221; the officer said.</p><p>While the postings prompted a lot of &#8220;hate mail&#8221; and discussion about addiction and the pros and cons of marijuana legalization, the exercise yielded at least seven &#8220;good tips&#8221; about suspected drug activity, he said.</p><p>&#8220;We got some good intel. We want to get the people selling stuff, the dealers, but the public has to help,&#8221; he said.</p><p>After posting the initial question, the department added a meme of Morpheus from the movie &#8220;The Matrix&#8221; stating, &#8220;What if I told you police can have a sense of humor too.&#8221;</p><p>Many relished the exchange, with one saying, &#8220;You guys win the internet for today&#8221; and another asking why their local cops can&#8217;t be &#8220;this awesome.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Thank you for having a sense of humor! We all need a good laugh once in a while. Cops can have fun too. They&#8217;re human, right?&#8221; a woman posted.</p><p>There were smiley faces with tears of laughter posted galore and several descriptions of &#8220;genius,&#8221; sprinkled with some criticism of the appropriateness of the postings here and there.</p><p>As some continued to express confusion about the unusual postings, police emphasized the page was not hacked.</p><p>&#8220;Yes this page is real,&#8221; it said, requesting serious tips about drug dealing occurring within the township, including the areas around the Wyoming Valley Mall, Target, Kmart, Big Lots or Walmart. Confidentiality was promised.</p><p>&#8220;We appreciate your support. Unfortunately the police cannot be everywhere at once,&#8221; the police wrote, saying tips from the public can help lead to arrests and make the community safer for all.</p><p>Another police posting: &#8220;Not a hack, we&#8217;re for realz. We&#8217;re trying to find dat hook up.&#8221;</p><p>The department also asked why there are no calls or texts. &#8220;Why hasn&#8217;t anyone hit us up yet? If you got the goods, we&#8217;ll &#8216;hook you up&#8217; good.</p><p>&#8220;Pathetic. Why is the police department posting this?&#8221; someone wrote.</p><p>Police replied with a picture of a child that read, &#8220;Because we can!&#8221;</p><p>When someone wrote that cake was their only drug, the department posted a picture of Will Ferrel in his costume for the movie, Elf.</p><p>&#8220;Did you say cake?&#8221; it read.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre Township police plug for drug tip line goes viral