‘United Gangs of America’: BMF Insider Reveals Gang’s Code: ‘Death Before Dishonor’ [Exclusive Clip]

The July 8 episode of United Gangs of America offers an inside look at one of the most infamous criminal gangs in recent memory: Black Mafia Family. The episode features interviews with members of BMF, some of whom have never before shared their stories on camera. They open up about their life with the syndicate, which involved “sickening stacks of cocaine, cars, cash and flash.” 

BMF member recalls hiding cash in a limo in ‘United Gangs of America’ 

Starting in the 1980s in Detroit, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his brother, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, began building a vast drug empire. Eventually, they relocated to Atlanta, where they embedded themselves in the hip-hop scene and expanded their criminal activities across the United States. Eventually, their activities drew the attention of the FBI, and Big Meech went to prison. But he later gained a new kind of fame thanks to the Starz series BMF, which premiered in 2021. Big Meech’s son, Demetrius Edward Flenory Jr., even plays his dad in the show.    

In this exclusive clip from the upcoming episode of VICE TV’s United Gangs of America, BMF associate Jabari Hayes recalls a fateful encounter with police in 2004. 

“March 16, 2004, was a bad day,” says Hayes, who worked as a driver for BMF. 

On that day, he was behind the wheel of a limousine fitted with “traps” – compartments designed for hiding money and drugs. His plan? Drive from St. Louis to Los Angeles with more than $600,000 of concealed cash. But soon after pulling onto I-44, he heard the sirens. 

At first, Hayes was not too concerned. 

“I get pulled over by the police,” he says. “I don’t care. It’s my job, right? Occupational hazard.”

A hostile cop pulls out a saw and discovers the hidden cash 

Hayes tried to play it cool with the cop, who wanted to know if there was any money in the car. 

“I say, ‘Yeah, maybe $30 and some change,” he recounts. 

The suspicious police officer called for backup. 

“I’m watching everything. They come back out of the car, nothing,” Hayes says. “But when that good old boy came back with that Hilti saw, I knew it was going down.” 

The police cut into the limo, discovering the illicit cash. The cop made it clear that he didn’t appreciate being lied to. 

“You know what that good ol’ boy said?” Hayes says. “He came back, knocked on that glass, boom, boom. He pulled up that vacuum-sealed money. He said, ‘F*ck you! F*ck you!’”

Officers leaned on Hayes to reveal the truth about the money and who he was working for. But he refused to break the gang’s code.    

“Death before dishonor,” he says with a shrug. “You don’t allow feds, police, or anybody else to infiltrate BMF.”

United Gangs of America airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on VICE TV.

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