An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. As a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his position. It is also the story of a dedicated and honest policeman, Richie Roberts, who heads up a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government. Based on a true story.—garykmcd
In 1968, the loyal driver, bouncer and collector Frank Lucas witnesses the death of his boss and mentor Bumpy Johnson and finds that Harlem lost its leadership. Frank decides to import heroin direct from the source in Bangkok, establishing a logistic of transportation using the US military airplanes from Vietnam to USA. The quality of his product associated to the trade mark "Blue Magic" and the lower prices bring Frank Lucas to the position of number one distributor of heroin in USA. Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In 1970s America, detective Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas (Washington), a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drugs into the country in the coffins of soldiers from the Vietnam War.
In 1968, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Clarence Williams III), a disciplined and intelligent gangster, runs much of Harlem and imparts his wisdom to Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), his former limo driver, now turned out his right-hand man. One day, Bumpy Johnson dies of a heart attack at an electronics store. Frank dislikes the new, flashy gangsters who are in line to take over Harlem and decides to take control himself.
Meanwhile, Newark Police Department detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is juggling a failing marriage, late-night law school classes, and his police career. When Richie and his partner, Javier Rivera (John Ortiz), discover nearly $1 million in unmarked bills in a car, Richie resists temptation and turns the money in. His rare honesty makes him a hated member of his precinct, causing his partner to be exiled from the force, while Richie's rampant womanizing behavior and undercover double life leads his wife to seek a divorce and custody of their son. After his exiled partner dies from overdosing on "Blue Magic", a relatively new and powerful type of heroin being sold for less money than its drug competition, Richie's honesty catches him a break when his superior Captain Lou Toback (Ted Levine) puts him in charge of a newly created task force to stop major drug trafficking in Essex County, New Jersey by going after the actual supplier, rather than the middle-men. Richie handpicks honest cops and gets to work on finding who is supplying Blue Magic.
Blue Magic is being supplied by Frank Lucas, who took over Bumpy's gang. After hearing a TV report referring to the cheaper drugs supplied to servicemen in Vietnam, Lucas decided to cut out the middle-man and buy his drugs directly from the producers in Thailand. By cutting out the middle-man, Frank is able to provide a higher quality product at a cheaper price than his rivals, eventually wholesaling drugs to most of the dealers in the New York area, while making his tracking by the authorities more difficult. He smuggles his drugs into the country by way of the US military involved in the Vietnam War. He creates a brand drug "Blue Magic" and with a great monopoly on quality product, Frank quickly makes a fortune and buys several nightclubs and apartments. He moves his family from North Carolina to New Jersey, where he purchases a large estate for his humble mother. His five brothers are enlisted as his gang lieutenants in the drug trade - forming "The Country Boys" - who work together to traffic and sell dope on New York area streets. During his rise, Frank meets and falls in love with Eva, a Puerto Rican beauty queen. Through his discipline, intelligence, organization, power, and willingness to kill everyone who stands in his way, Frank quickly rises to the top of the Harlem drug and crime scene as the biggest gang leader and drug dealer.
As Frank's business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting the attention of the law. However, Frank disregards this habit for his soon-to-be wife for one ostentatious night out, attending the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in a gaudy chinchilla fur coat and hat, along with a ringside seat. As it happens, Roberts is on duty observing the event and sees this unknown, but obviously wealthy person associating with high-level criminals, as well as having better seats than the Italian Mafia high-stake Dons. Roberts becomes suspicious, and he begins to investigate this, unknown to him but well-known to the criminals, figure in New York organized crime.
Even as Frank realizes he has exposed himself to police scrutiny, he must make deals with the Mafia, in this case Lucchese crime family Mob boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante), and fend off corrupt NYPD detectives, such as Det. Nick Trupo (Josh Brolin), who attempt to extort and threaten him. Trupo interrupts Frank as he and his new wife are heading to their honeymoon. In retaliation Frank has Trupo's prized 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350-H[2] bombed before his eyes. Frank must also contend with local crime figure called Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is taking some of Frank's product, diluting it himself, and selling it under Frank's "Blue Magic" brand name. Unidentified assassins try to kill Frank & his wife, further destabilizing him and threatening his marriage. Things take a turn for the worse when the Fall of Saigon cuts off Frank's supply. His Kuomintang supplier sympathetically tells him "Quitting while you are ahead...is not the same as quitting."
Richie catches another break when his men witness Frank's cousin shooting a woman. They use the driver's predicament to get him to wear a wire. The wire allows Richie and his task force to discover when a plane carrying drugs is landing. The plane is a C-130 carrying some of the last U.S. Soldiers returning from Vietnam. Richie has his men search everyone and everything literally tearing the plane apart and even looking in the coffins of dead soldiers. Richie is ordered to cease his search by a Federal agent, who dismisses the influence of Frank and his "negro"-run drug family. Meanwhile, Trupo and his men break into Frank's mansion and steals his emergency cash supply, as well as kill his German Shepherd dog. Frank initially sets out to kill Trupo, but his mother manages to dissuade him.
Richie and his men continue observing the plane's contents and follow the drugs into Newark's projects and obtain a warrant. A huge group of police and detectives attack the drug apartments en mass and a large shootout ensues. Steve Lucas, Frank's nephew (T.I.), who gave up a promising baseball career with the New York Yankees to work for his uncle, is shot in the shootout. Frank is at the church when the bust goes down, but he is arrested after the service ends. Richie meets with Frank and makes it clear to him that he has enough evidence to put him away for the rest of his life. He then tells Frank that he has a chance of doing a shorter term in jail if he helps him in the case.
With no other options, Frank decides to provide names of dirty cops working for the NYPD. Numerous cops are arrested, and a distraught Trupo commits suicide with his revolver to avoid arrest. Richie, having passed the bar exam, prosecutes Frank. In the end, three quarters of the New York Drug Enforcement Agency are arrested and convicted. Once convicted, Lucas provides evidence that leads to more than 100 further drug-related convictions. In 1977, Lucas and his family are placed in the witness protection program, hiding somewhere in the country. Frank has his Federal and state term reduced four years later in 1981, and in 1984 is caught and convicted of trying to exchange one ounce of heroin and $13,000 for one kilogram of cocaine. He is defended by his former prosecutor, Richie Roberts, now a criminal defense attorney, and receives a sentence of seven years. At the film's end, Frank steps out of jail in 1991, significantly older and out of place, now just a normal man. In a post-credits scene, he pulls out a gun and shoots "the camera".
