A drug trafficking ring in Pinellas County has been dismantled after investigators used music videos posted online as evidence against its members.
Four men linked to Bag Tawk Entertainment (BTE), a group that openly rapped about making and selling drugs, have been sentenced to 19 to 25 years in prison following a years-long federal investigation.
How Music Videos Led to the Bust
Authorities say the group’s rap videos, featuring guns, drugs, and lyrics about trafficking, were not just artistic expression, but actual evidence of criminal activity.
“The guns that we saw in the rap video, the drugs that we saw in the rap video, wasn’t artistic creativity. It was real. It was their drug lifestyle,” said attorney Anthony Rickman, who is not connected to the case.
Investigators used song lyrics and visuals from the music videos to pinpoint drug stash locations in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alongside information from confidential informants, this evidence helped secure search warrants in 2022 and 2023.
Authorities uncovered large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl, and meth at the group’s stash houses.
Sentencing and Charges
The four men convicted in the case include:
Cortez Haugabook – Sentenced to 25 years and 10 months
Torri McLaurin – Previously sentenced
Kristian Brown – Previously sentenced
Javontah Harris – Previously sentenced
The Investigation’s Impact
In 2022, agents found business cards linked to Haugabook, which helped connect the dots in the case. The overwhelming evidence—much of it provided by the defendants themselves through their own music videos—led to guilty pleas from all four men, eliminating the need for a trial.
“The government used what these defendants put on social media, what they put in the rap videos, against them,” Rickman explained.
This case highlights how criminals exposing their activities online can play a direct role in their downfall.
