Drug Dealers Caught on Google Street View

Nov. 11, 2010— -- Google Street View sightings tend to be more peculiar than practical -- in the past year alone, the globe encompassing image service has turned up photos of a so-called two-headed man, a "dead" girl and a snake out for a walk with its owner. But the latest additions to the canon of Street View spectacles are so valuable they might be used in a court of law.

A trio of alleged heroin dealers were arrested by law enforcement after they were caught in the act by Google Street View cameras in Brooklyn, N.Y.

According to the New York Post, several images captured by Google's cameras showed the three men standing in front of an East Williamsburg bodega and allegedly pushing their product to local hipsters and other customers.

Law enforcement said the investigation began in July when residents complained about the illicit curbside activity and set up an undercover sting operation. They dealers were arrested Wednesday.

Although Google Street View has come under fire for privacy reasons recently, it has also generated plenty of images that entertain and amuse.

Take a look at a few other examples below.

It was just a child's innocent prank. But when people in Worcester, England, saw what looked like a dead body in a Google image of their street, they sounded the alarm.

According to the U.K.'s Telegraph this August, neighbors were so distressed by a picture showing a brown-haired girl lying face down on the sidewalk that they reached out to the tech giant, worried that a crime had been committed.

But it turned out that the dead-looking girl was mischievous 9-year-old Azura Beebeejaun, playing a prank at the exact moment that a Google Street View car happened by, shooting pictures.

''I didn't know anything about the Google Street View car. I fell over while I was playing with my friend and thought it would be funny to play dead," Azura, now 10, told the Telegraph. ''I heard a car go past me but had no idea I was having my picture taken. I was just playing a joke on my friend."

A spokesman for Google said, ''The imagery in Street View represents a snapshot in time of Britain's streets and is no different to what anyone might expect to see for themselves around the country. … Sometimes that means our cars inadvertently capture odd or inappropriate moments as they drive past."