Assuming your story true (and based on ones I've seen on 'Locked Up Abroad'), I think what happens here is that higher ups are giving the police a win. Everyone in some of these areas is on the take, but the police still need to show arrests once in awhile. So throw some guns and drugs in a house (cost of doing business), put some randoms in there, and call the raid.

>A friend of his offered that if he stayed at some random house ...arrested along with others

with friends like that, who needs enemies!

Well yeh, that particular idea is not worth it. It's ridiculous. On the other hand in the UK I know people who make huge amounts of tax free money and when they get caught (usually after 5-10 years) they go to prison for a year or two. Not so bad.