A controlled buy refers to a type of drug investigation in which a law enforcement officer is first searched to confirm she/he has no contraband on her/his person. The officer is then provided with prerecorded funds to make a buy and transported to a prearranged area for the transaction. Police maintain continuous surveillance and once the transaction is complete, they again search the officer and field-test the drugs obtained from the target of the investigation.
An officer may not commit entrapment in the process of a controlled buy. The target must be predisposed to commit the criminal act prior to first being approached by law enforcement officers or their agents.
